King Charles greets public in first major public event since cancer diagnosis
Charles was seen shaking hands with members of the public once the service was over, ITV News' Martha Fairlie reports
The King attended a church service on Easter Sunday in his most significant public appearance since he was diagnosed with cancer.
He was seen shaking hands with members of the public once the service was over.
The Princess of Wales and her family did not attend.
Charles, 75, joined the Queen and other members of the royal family at the annual Easter Mattins Service at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle on Sunday.
The Easter service comes just over a week after Kate released an emotional video message disclosing that she had started a course of preventative chemotherapy.
She, the Prince of Wales and their children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, who all attended last year, are missing the service on Sunday.
The family are spending the Easter holidays together as they adjust to Kate’s diagnosis, which was discovered in post-operative tests after major abdominal surgery.
The King’s attendance at church will be seen as a move to reassure the public after the shock news about his daughter-in-law.
But the service was a smaller version of the annual gathering, with fewer members of the royal family, as the King has paused public-facing duties while he continues treatment for cancer himself.
He was described by the Palace as being “so proud” of the princess for her courage in speaking out, and is said to be in “the closest contact with his beloved daughter-in-law”.
The Archbishop of Canterbury wished the King and Princess of Wales well in his Easter sermon at Canterbury Cathedral on Sunday.
Justin Welby encouraged the congregation to “pray” for Charles and Kate and commended their “dignity” in responding to the diagnosis.
Mr Welby also praised the royals’ “lack of selfishness” in speaking of their health.
The King’s treatment for cancer was announced at the start of February, but he has been carrying out low-key official duties behind palace walls.
Arrivals at the chapel’s Galilee Porch are often watched by staff living at Windsor, who usually gather on a grassy bank nearby or watch from their doorsteps.
Queen Elizabeth II is buried in the church’s tiny King George VI Memorial Chapel, with the Duke of Edinburgh and her parents George VI and the Queen Mother. Their names are inscribed on a new black stone slab set in the floor.
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