King Charles reads cards and messages, sent by well-wishers following his cancer diagnosis (Picture: PA)
The King has been pictured having a giggle at some of the thousands of get well soon cards which have poured into Buckingham Palace since his cancer diagnosis.
Charles has been sent around 7,000 messages of support, with one well-wisher urging the 75-year-old monarch: ‘Chin up, chest out, remain positive and don’t let it get you down. Trust me, it works, but the main thing is family.’
A child sent the message: ‘Never give up. Be brave. Don’t push your limits. Get Well Soon.’
Sitting at a desk in a room in the Palace’s Belgian Suite, Charles laughed when he came across a card showing a disgruntled dog recovering from medical treatment and telling him ‘at least you don’t have to wear a cone!’.
The card was illustrated with a picture of the terrier-like dog wearing a collar and feeling sorry for itself.
The restrictive collar which stops animals aggravating a wound or stitches after an operation is sometimes called the ‘cone of shame’ by pet owners, or an ‘Elizabethan’ or ‘E-collar’ in reference to the large collars known as ruffs worn by Elizabethans.
Following the announcement of the King’s cancer diagnosis, the Correspondence Team at Buckingham Palace have received more than 7,000 letters and cards form across the world (Picture: PA)
The King has been sent a selection in his daily red box of paperwork (Picture: PA)
One card, like many sent to the King, was hand-drawn, with the words ‘get well soon’ written beneath a picture of a crown, complete with rubies and emeralds, and with a rainbow on the back.
Where the public have included an address they will receive a response of thanks for their cards or letters.
Charles looked at the messages, sent in his daily red box of paperwork, on Wednesday and during that day carried out his first face-to-face official duties – an audience with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and a Privy Council meeting – since his condition was made public.
Footage was released of the King meeting Mr Sunak and he said he had been reduced to tears by the messages and cards of support he had received.
Footage was released of the King meeting Mr Sunak and he said he had been reduced to tears by the messages and cards of support (Picture: PA)
The Prime Minister told him the ‘country is behind you’.
Since the diagnosis Charles has postponed all public-facing duties, but is continuing with behind-the-scenes work on his red boxes of state papers.
The royal family’s official social media channels posted a short film to accompany the photographs, showing post from well-wishers being delivered and later sorted by staff and the King looking through the messages.
One read: ‘I wanted to tell you I am thinking of you as you face your own diagnosis and treatment and send prayers and every good wish for a speedy recovery.’
Another said: ‘King Charles, sorry to hear you are not feeling well at the moment. I am wishing you a speedy recovery. Get Well Soon!’
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