Queen will step up as King cancels public engagements after cancer diagnosis

Her Majesty to continue with a full programme of public duties as the ‘workaholic’ King apologises for the ‘inconvenience’ of his diagnosis

The Queen will continue with a full programme of public duties while the King receives treatment for cancer, Buckingham Palace has said in the wake of his diagnosis.
She will undertake all her usual royal engagements in the coming months as her husband, 75, has rearranged and postponed his own.
It is thought that the King will continue his weekly audiences with the Prime Minister and will undertake his official red box paperwork while being treated but will not complete any public duties.
A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: “Regrettably, a number of the King’s forthcoming public engagements will have to be rearranged or postponed.
“His Majesty would like to apologise to all those who may be disappointed or inconvenienced as a consequence.”
However, the Queen, 76, has decided to plough on with a full programme of royal engagements – the bread and butter of a royal diary – while preparing to support the King through this period.
It is understood that she and other senior members of the family may undertake some additional duties on behalf of the King if it is required, but that counsellors of state are not expected to step in.
During the monarch’s corrective surgery and recovery for his benign enlarged prostate, the Queen undertook a number of engagements and also visited her husband at the London Clinic on a daily basis.
She provided a stream of updates on the King’s condition during her engagements, telling well-wishers that he was “doing well” and “looking forward to getting back to work” following a period of recuperation. Palace aides had indicated that he would need several weeks away from public duties to recover from the procedure before news of his cancer diagnosis broke. 
The King was said to be “raring” to return to work before the new diagnosis, but it is now understood to be too early to tell when this might be as he undergoes new specialist treatment.
A Palace spokesperson said that the monarch “is wholly positive about his treatment and looks forward to returning to full public duty as soon as possible”.
 Last week, the Queen carried out a number of engagements which included hosting a reception of authors at Windsor Castle to celebrate the centenary of Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House, speaking to elderly residents at St John’s Foundation almshouses in Bath and opening Maggie’s Royal Free, a new cancer support centre.
As recently as Feb 2, she completed a visit to Meadows Community Centre in Arbury, Cambridge, which marked her fourth official engagement in four days.
The King and Queen were last seen in public together on Sunday, when the King waved to onlookers as he walked to church at the Sandringham estate in Norfolk. He appeared in good spirits during his first public outing since he was discharged from hospital. 
The King had been recuperating at his Norfolk home since last Wednesday, after returning from London by helicopter, but is back in the capital this week as he begins to receive out-patient care for his cancer diagnosis.
The Queen is said to have urged her husband to slow down following his earlier treatment but will have to do the opposite herself to keep the show on the road.
The King will continue to receive his daily red boxes of Government papers throughout his cancer treatment, it was confirmed on Monday as he apologised for the “inconvenience” his diagnosis will cause.
The monarch, who is often branded a “workaholic”, has opted to plough on with his office work in an attempt to maintain his daily routine.
He is expected to continue his weekly audiences with the Prime Minister, which could be held over the phone rather than in person, if he is advised by doctors to minimise contact with people because of the risk of infection.
The King is also hoping to complete select meetings in private and to be available for state duties, including Privy Council meetings, when possible and subject to medical advice.
However, he had no choice but to cancel public engagements that had been arranged for the coming weeks but apologised to all those “disappointed” or “inconvenienced” as a consequence.
Having only just received his diagnosis, details of his commitments are still being worked through and it is not known when a full programme of engagements will recommence.
It was reported that the King and Queen were due to travel to Canada on an official tour this spring, although this had not been confirmed by the Palace.
Royal sources said planning for future overseas visits would continue where possible, making allowances for the changed circumstances.
This will include a planned trip to Australia in October, when the King is also scheduled to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Samoa.
Royal aides previously suggested that he would not return to public duties for several weeks, with the typical patient being treated for a benign enlarged prostate requiring around a month of recovery.
Aides acknowledged that the monarch’s case was not typical, noting that his secondary diagnosis and treatment plan had not been confirmed. 
True to form, the King continued working right up until his hospital admission last month, meeting academics from Cambridge University at Sandringham on Jan 25, before travelling back to London for his treatment.
Buckingham Palace made clear when it was first announced that he had been diagnosed with an enlarged prostate that the King would continue to go through his daily red boxes with his private secretary.
Embossed with the gold royal cypher, the scarlet container holds paperwork relating to affairs of state, as opposed to his personal correspondence.
The Queen is understood to have told her husband to slow down in the wake of his health scare, as insiders revealed: “It’s sometimes a struggle to keep up with him.”