King Charles Announces His First Overseas Trip Since Cancer Diagnosis

The monarch is finding a way to return to normalcy as he continues cancer treatments.

 King Charles III attends the Sunday service at the Church of St Mary Magdalene on the Sandringham estate on January 7, 2024 in Sandringham, England.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

King Charles is preparing to take his first overseas trip since revealing he has been diagnosed with and is currently undergoing treatment for an unspecified type of cancer.

On Friday, May 17, Buckingham Palace confirmed the monarch will travel to Normandy, France, on June 6 to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day, the Independent reports.

The monarch will visit the British Normandy Memorial alongside his wife, Queen Camilla, where the event will be led by the Ministry of Defense and the Royal British Legion.

The announcement comes after Queen Camilla provided an update on the monarch's health and something of a warning to her husband, telling guests at a recent garden party at Lamb House that King Charles "would" be "getting better" if "he behaved himself."

As the Independent noted, the Queen has said to have previously told her husband he needed "to slow down a bit" after he was initially diagnosed with an enlarged prostate.

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The King returned to public-facing duties on April 30, which included a visit to a cancer treatment center to meet with medical specialists and patients.

Prior to his first big step toward a more normal public schedule, the Palace released an update on the King's health, writing in a statement that the monarch's "treatment program will continue" and that "doctors are sufficiently pleased with the progress made so far."

“Forthcoming engagements will be adapted where necessary to minimize any risks to His Majesty’s continued recovery," the Palace's statement continued, in addition to confirming that the King was “greatly encouraged” to be resuming some public-facing duties and “very grateful” to his medical team for their “continued care and expertise.”

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King Charles is a notorious "workaholic," according to numerous family members and royal insiders. Following his cancer diagnosis, Peter Phillips—the King's nephew—told Sky News Australia's The Royal Report that his uncle is "frustrated that he can't get on and do everything that he wants to be able to do."

“He is always pushing his staff and everybody and his doctors and nurses to be able to say: 'Actually, can I do this? Can I do that?'" Phillips explained at the time. “So the overriding message would be that he's obviously very keen to get back to a form of normality."

In 2023, the 75-year-old royal traveled to France, Germany and Kenya, the Independent reported.

Danielle Campoamor
Weekend Editor

Danielle Campoamor is Marie Claire's weekend editor covering all things news, celebrity, politics, culture, live events, and more. In addition, she is an award-winning freelance writer and former NBC journalist with over a decade of digital media experience covering mental health, reproductive justice, abortion access, maternal mortality, gun violence, climate change, politics, celebrity news, culture, online trends, wellness, gender-based violence and other feminist issues. You can find her work in The New York Times, Washington Post, TIME, New York Magazine, CNN, MSNBC, NBC, TODAY, Vogue, Vanity Fair, Harper's Bazaar, Marie Claire, InStyle, Playboy, Teen Vogue, Glamour, The Daily Beast, Mother Jones, Prism, Newsweek, Slate, HuffPost and more. She currently lives in Brooklyn, New York with her husband and their two feral sons. When she is not writing, editing or doom scrolling she enjoys reading, cooking, debating current events and politics, traveling to Seattle to see her dear friends and losing Pokémon battles against her ruthless offspring. You can find her on X, Instagram, Threads, Facebook and all the places.