The illness of Charles III

Do I need to mention the health of the King this morning when everyone else is?

I think I do, because the news media are obsessing about the health of a man who will be taking a break from a job that quite literally no-one needs to do, and are treating it as if nothing else in the country matters. No wonder people in this country are so acquiescent when we are totally infantilised in this way.

But let me also turn to the health of Charles Windsor. Of course, I wish him well. I would do the same for anyone with a cancer diagnosis. I know what it feels like to be with someone getting one, and to live through their treatment. It was, at least in my closest experience, no fun at all. At a human level he has my total sympathy, as do his family.

But Charles Windsor is for reasons of eugenic belief also deemed to be our monarch, and as King he is a public figure. In that role he is not a private person. And given the obsession with that role we deserve to be told the truth, and I very much doubt that is happening.

We do not know what cancer he has.

We do not know when it was really discovered.

We do not know what stage it is at.

We do not know what the treatment is going to be.

The absence of this information is creating uncertainty, speculation and stress, which is the exact opposite of what the Palace said it wanted to do. That is either bad comms at best or wholly inappropriate at worst. It really would help if the truth was told. Infantilisation does not help at this moment.

More than that though, it is now beholden on those in the media who are commenting to point out just how exceptional this care apparently is. The speed of reaction is quite phenomenal. If the King requires treatment at this pace, why doesn’t everyone else? Is it that he is really worth more than the rest of us, who have no chance of being treated in the way that it would seem he is being? Isn’t that an issue worthy of debate when we know that cancer treatments are getting slower, rather than faster?

I stress, I have real concern for Charles Windsor and his family. But I think the truth is required both on his condition and why he gets preferential treatment when I think all cancer patients have a right to the highest standard of care and to have their concerns alleviated to the greatest possible degree. Nothing about the treatment he is currently getting will help achieve that goal without awkward questions being asked. I reserve the right to ask them.