King Charles diagnosed with cancer, confirms Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace on Monday announced that England’s King Charles III has been diagnosed with cancer and will step back from public-facing duties while he undergoes treatment.

On 8th September 2022, King Charles ascended to the throne after the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth, who was the longest-reigning monarch in British history. His formal coronation ceremony took place on 6th May 2023.

The exact information about the King’s cancer is not known yet, but the diagnosis came following the treatment for an enlarged prostate. However, the palace denied prostate cancer.

Recent events have seen King Charles undergo a three-night hospital stay for a corrective procedure addressing an enlarged prostate. The news of his cancer diagnosis comes amid the recovery of his daughter-in-law Kate, the Princess of Wales, who recently underwent abdominal surgery, requiring a hospitalization period of approximately two weeks.

According to the British constitution, when a sovereign passes away, their successor immediately assumes the throne without a gap in leadership. The rules of succession, many of which have existed for centuries, dictate that the crown passes to the eldest child of the monarch, followed by their descendants in birth order and proximity to the reigning sovereign.

As per these rules, Prince William, the eldest son of King Charles, is next in line to the throne, followed by his eldest son, Prince George, and then his other children, Charlotte and Louis. Prince Harry, Charles’ younger son and William’s brother, follows in the line of succession.

However, there are exceptions outlined in the 1689 Bill of Rights and the 1701 Act of Settlement. The latter was enacted to ensure a Protestant succession and to exclude Roman Catholics from ascending to the throne. It also mandated that the sovereign must pledge allegiance to the Church of England and the Church of Scotland.

The Succession to the Crown Act of 2013 made significant amendments to these rules. It abolished gender-based discrimination in the line of succession, eliminating the male primogeniture system that favored younger sons over elder daughters. Additionally, it removed the restriction on individuals who marry Catholics from becoming monarchs. Nonetheless, it stipulated that the first six individuals in the line of succession must obtain the monarch’s consent before marrying.

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