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The King has been diagnosed with cancer and has started treatment today, Buckingham Palace has announced.

His diagnosis comes following treatment in hospital for an enlarged prostate, although the palace said he does not have prostate cancer.

The palace has not confirmed what type of cancer the 75-year-old monarch has.

Follow live: King chose to share diagnosis to ‘prevent speculation’

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King Charles statement in full

The Duke of Sussex has spoken to his father about his diagnosis and will travel to Britain to see him in the coming days, said a source close to Prince Harry.

The palace said the King personally called both Harry and the Prince of Wales – as well as his siblings the Princess Royal, the Duke of York and the Duke of Edinburgh – to share news of his health.

Heir to the throne Prince William is understood to be in regular contact with his father.

The monarch has begun a schedule of regular treatments and is said to be receiving expert medical care from a specialist team.

But he has been advised by doctors to postpone his public-facing duties.

Read more:
Analysis: King’s treatment a private matter – but his openness will bring focus to some vital work

Full statement from Buckingham Palace
King’s health issues over the years

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‘Serious statement from Palace’

The King travelled from Sandringham in Norfolk to London this morning to start treatment as an outpatient. He is at home in London this evening, most likely in Clarence House.

He will carry on working behind the scenes on his red boxes – his state business and official papers.

A palace spokesperson said: “His Majesty has been treated for benign prostate enlargement.

“It was during this intervention that the separate issue of concern was noted and subsequently diagnosed as a form of cancer.

“This second condition will now receive appropriate treatment.”

Yesterday, the King was photographed waving after he and the Queen attended a church service in Sandringham.

Pic: PA
King Charles III and Queen Camilla leave after attending a Sunday church service at St Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham, Norfolk
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The King and Queen leave church after attending a service in Sandringham on Sunday. Pic: PA

It was his first public appearance since being discharged from the London Clinic last Monday.

The head of state underwent a procedure for an enlarged prostate, spending three nights in hospital in late January.

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A statement from Buckingham Palace said today: “During the King’s recent hospital procedure for benign prostate enlargement, a separate issue of concern was noted. Subsequent diagnostic tests have identified a form of cancer.

“His Majesty has today commenced a schedule of regular treatments, during which time he has been advised by doctors to postpone public-facing duties.

“The King is grateful to his medical team for their swift intervention, which was made possible thanks to his recent hospital procedure.”

A new level of openness about royal medical matters

The King looked well as he walked to church at Sandringham on Sunday which makes this announcement even more unexpected.

The palace is keen to stress he remains wholly positive about his treatment but inevitably aware that his diagnosis will cause concern.

It feels like a complete change from what we would expect from the Royal Family with a new level of openness about their medical matters.

With the Queen and Prince Philip, the amount of detail was always much more scarce.

So why the change of tack?

There is an acknowledgment that as our head of state we should know about something this serious.

But it’s clear the palace and the monarch wanted to make sure they were in control, as much possible, when it came to revealing his cancer diagnosis to the world.

A kind of deal has been done. We’ve let you in on what’s going on, now it’s time to give the King time away from the cameras for this period of treatment and recovery.

Monarch ‘remains wholly positive’

The palace said His Majesty “remains wholly positive about his treatment” and “looks forward to returning to full public duty as soon as possible”.

The statement added that the King had chosen to “share his diagnosis to prevent speculation” and “in the hope it may assist public understanding for all those around the world who are affected by cancer”.

News of the King’s diagnosis comes as his daughter-in-law Kate, Princess of Wales, recovers from abdominal surgery following a hospital stay of around two weeks.

Pic: AP
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Prince Harry is due to see his father in the coming days. Pic: AP

Reaction to King’s diagnosis

The King is heading into his cancer treatment as a “very fit 75-year-old” who has always been “very energetic and determined”, said Sky’s royal commentator Alastair Bruce.

“Everybody knows the impact of the word cancer,” he said, adding the monarch’s diagnosis gives it “something of a focus”.

“I think that having come down to London, we hear, to start this procedure – we know he does so with enormous enthusiasm,” he said.

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What next for the King?

The King has “thrown himself” into his role of head of state and may be “bringing light” to the issue incidentally through his own diagnosis, Bruce continued.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak reacted to the news of the King’s cancer diagnosis by writing on X: “Wishing His Majesty a full and speedy recovery.

“I have no doubt he’ll be back to full strength in no time and I know the whole country will be wishing him well.”

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer also issued a get well message to the head of state.

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The political earthquake Farage has long promised is now shaking our political system

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The political earthquake Farage has long promised is now shaking our political system

It’s quite simply a political earthquake. Across England, Reform proved it can translate positive polling into real power, picking up another parliamentary seat, a mayoralty, Staffordshire and Lincolnshire councils and dozens of seats by lunchtime. The popularity surge for this anti-establishment party is real. 

Look at the votes: Reform doubling its vote share in Runcorn against the general election to 38%, clocking up 42% of the vote in the Lincolnshire mayoral race and 32% in the Doncaster mayoral race, running Labour very close. By lunchtime, Reform had taken the long-held Staffordshire council from the Tories, wiping out their five-strong majority.

The significance of these wins, added in with the big gains for the Lib Dems and Greens, cannot be overstated. It speaks in a serious way to a new era of politics in the UK, in which the decades-long duopoly of Labour versus Conservative is crumbling with the rise of the other parties.

Politics latest: PM told to ‘change course’ as Reform surge to election wins

The trend was evident in the 2024 general election, when the two main parties got their lowest ever vote share. Labour’s clever targeting of seats ensured that it won a massive majority on just 34% of the popular vote. The Lib Dems won a record 70 seats, while Reform picked up five MPs and came second in 98 constituencies.

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Farage: ‘This is Reform-quake’

If that was a loveless landslide, this is the break-up, as voters, who backed Labour’s change message, seem to be pressing the change button again and turning out for a leader who is tapping into voters’ disillusionment with his slogan that “Britain is broken and needs Reform”.

For the government to lose a by-election just 10 months after winning a massive landslide is a terrible moment for Labour. It won this seat with 53% of the vote in July, against Reform polling at 18%. To end up losing it – albeit by just six votes – is a dreadful verdict from voters here on their early performance.

Those around the PM admit it is deeply frustrating but say they expected a kicking from an angry electorate impatient for change. They are taking crumbs of comfort in, just about, holding the mayoralties of Doncaster, North Tyneside and West of England.

But in early council results, the drop in the Labour vote is big, and that raises questions as to whether Starmer’s party will struggle to hold constituencies it gained in the July election, such as Hexham in Northumberland.

The approach from No 10 is to “keep calm and carry on” with its government agenda – the immigration white paper, defence review, infrastructure strategy – to deliver for the public and win back the support they had in the last general election in time for the next.

Read more:
Full local and mayoral election results
Reform has put the two traditional parties on notice

Nigel Farage holds up six fingers to indicate the six votes his party's candidate won by in the Runcorn and Helsby by-election.
Pic: Reuters
Image:
Nigel Farage holds up six fingers to indicate the six votes his party’s candidate won by in the Runcorn and Helsby by-election. Pic: Reuters

For the Conservatives, it’s been – to quote one political rival – a “story of Tory councillors getting machine gunned”. In Staffordshire, where Farage did his final rally, Reform have taken a council where the Tories had a 50-strong majority.

The party has been absolutely hammered by Reform in the Tory heartlands of Lincolnshire, where Dame Andrea Jenkyns won the Greater Lincolnshire mayoralty by 40,000 votes. In the general election, the Conservatives held six of the eight parliamentary seats in this county, on Friday Jenkyns beat the Tories in eight out of the nine areas.

Those around Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch are trying to steady nerves, arguing that these results are disappointing but not surprising in the context of the party’s worst-ever election defeat in 2024, with the party “under new leadership” and “still in the early stages of a long-term plan to renew”.

Others are panicked and angry. “This is what political extinction looks like,” one senior Tory source told me, in a sign that questions over Badenoch’s leadership are only going to build.

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How significant are Reform’s wins?

There are many results still to come in, but what these elections are pointing to is the rise of multi-party politics with voting spread across three or four parties in many of the races and the two main parties rapidly losing ground.

It ties into the longer run trends in our voting, leaning towards more parties and less tribalism amongst voters, as the electorate shift loyalties, and frustration with Labour and the Tories fuels support for the alternatives.

Reform’s success in Runcorn and Durham, as well as Staffordshire and Lincolnshire, shows that Farage poses a significant threat to the two main parties. Add in the Lib Dems, challenging the Tories in their blue wall shires on the centre right, and what we see emerging is a party system where the two governing parties are no longer dominant.

These elections then, while relatively small, are profoundly consequential for our political system. Where we go next is hugely unclear. Much will rest on whether Labour can deliver on its promises and dull Farage’s drumbeat of change.

The shadow of Reform UK leader Nigel Farage is cast onto a branded board during a press conference at the Best Western Premier Mount Pleasant Hotel, Great North Road, Doncaster, in the run up to May's local and mayoral elections. Picture date: Monday April 7, 2025. PA Photo. See PA story POLITICS Reform. Photo credit should read: Danny Lawson/PA Wire
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Reform promised to fix ‘broken’ councils. Pic: PA

Reform’s challenge will be to prove that it can govern and sustain the additional scrutiny that being in office entails.

The Conservatives are in the most desperate place of all, squeezed by Reform on the right flank and the Lib Dems on the left. But what is clearer after today is that the political earthquake Farage has long promised is now shaking our political system in a perhaps epochal way.

The Reform leader has long been saying he is this country’s next prime minister. Looking at the way he and his party have translated poll leads into real power means that prospect is no longer a pipe dream.

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Sycamore Gap: Man says friend wanted to cut down world’s ‘most famous tree’

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Sycamore Gap: Man says friend wanted to cut down world's 'most famous tree'

One of two men on trial for cutting down the Sycamore Gap tree told a court his co-defendant had wanted to cut down the “most famous tree in the world”.

Daniel Graham, 39, said Adam Carruthers, 32, rang him the morning after to claim responsibility for felling the tree beside Hadrian’s Wall.

He said Carruthers had asked him to take the blame “because he had mental health issues”, believing he would be treated more leniently.

The prosecution allege that Graham and Carruthers drove from Carlisle to the Northumberland landmark in September 2023 during Storm Agnes.

Both men deny two counts of criminal damage to the sycamore and to the Roman Wall.

Adam Carruthers and Daniel Graham. Pic: CPS/PA
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Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers. Pic: CPS/PA

On the fourth day of the trial, Graham was asked about a call Carruthers made to him on the morning of 28 September 2023.

“It was Adam claiming he had cut down the Sycamore Gap tree, claiming that it was him that cut it down,” he said.

More on Northumberland

“I told him he was talking shite, I didn’t believe it.”

While Graham said his former friend had spoken of wanting to cut down the tree in the past, he “didn’t take it seriously”.

“At the time I didn’t know of the tree … He told me it was the most famous tree in the world.”

He told Newcastle Crown Court that he remembered Carruthers ordering a chainsaw and saying it was big enough to cover the Sycamore Gap’s circumference.

Adam Carruthers. Pic: CPS/PA
Image:
Adam Carruthers. Pic: CPS/PA

Defence barrister Chris Knox said two people had been involved on the night in question, one feling the tree and the other filming.

But while Graham said that Carruthers felled the tree, he “[didn’t] know 100% who the other person was”.

Speaking from the witness box, Graham said he was not the one using his Range Rover or mobile phone on the night the tree was cut down, which were both traced to the tree’s location.

At the time, the pair were the “best of pals”, according to Graham.

When questioned by Mr Knox on whether Carruthers had asked to borrow his Range Rover, he added: “Adam wouldn’t need to ask to borrow anything of mine. He was welcome to it.”

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Jurors have been told that an anonymous call was made to the emergency services on 23 August last year, by a man believed to be Graham, in which Carruthers was named as being responsible for felling the Sycamore Gap.

The trial continues.

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Comedian and actor Russell Brand bailed after appearing in court charged with rape and sexual assault

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Comedian and actor Russell Brand bailed after appearing in court charged with rape and sexual assault

Russell Brand has been granted bail after appearing in court charged with sexual offences including rape.

During the brief hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, the 49-year-old spoke only to confirm his name, date of birth, and address, also confirming to the judge that he understood his bail conditions.

Pic: Reuters
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Russell Brand outside Westminster Magistrates’ Court. Pic: Reuters

Brand, who has been living in the US, was charged by post last month with one count each of rape, indecent assault and oral rape – as well as two counts of sexual assault – in connection with incidents involving four separate women between 1999 and 2005.

The allegations were first made in a joint investigation by The Sunday Times, The Times and Channel 4 Dispatches in September 2023.

Rusell Brand
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The comedian and actor did not say anything as he entered the court

The comedian, actor and author has denied the accusations and said he has “never engaged in non-consensual activity”.

Appearing before Senior District Judge Paul Goldspring, Brand stood to confirm his name and address. He then sat down while the charges were read to the court.

Russell Brand surrounded by media as he arrives at Westminster Magistrates' Court.
Pic: Reuters
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Brand surrounded by media. Pic: Reuters

Brand is charged with the rape of a woman in 1999 in the Bournemouth area. She alleges that after meeting Brand at a theatrical performance and chatting to him later in her hotel room, she returned from the toilet to find he’d removed some of his clothes. She claims he asked her to take photos of him, and then raped her.

The court also heard of another of Brand’s alleged victims, who has accused him of indecently assaulting her in 2001 by “grabbing her arm and dragging her towards a male toilet” at a TV station.

Brand is accused of the oral rape and sexual assault of a woman he met in 2004 in London. He is accused of grabbing her breasts before allegedly pulling her into a toilet.

The final complainant is a radio worker who has accused Brand of sexually assaulting her between 2004 and 2005 by “kissing” and “grabbing” her breasts and buttocks.

Russell Brand leaves court.
Pic: Reuters
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Brand leaves court. Pic: Reuters

The judge referred the case up to the Central Criminal Court – informally known as the Old Bailey.

Brand was asked to supply both his US and UK addresses to the court.

When asked if he understood his bail conditions, he replied, “Yes”.

The case was adjourned and Brand, of Hambleden, Buckinghamshire, was told he must appear at the Old Bailey on 30 May.

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