King’s cancer treatment will continue into next year, Sky News understands
The King’s cancer treatment will continue into the New Year, Sky News understands.
Palace sources have said “his treatment has been moving in a positive direction and as a managed condition the treatment cycle will continue into next year”.
The source added there is a sense of optimism, which can be seen in the King’s desire to keep up a busy schedule of public engagements, including during the festive period.
Buckingham Palace announced in February that King Charles had been diagnosed with cancer and was beginning a course of treatment.
Very early on, the monarch personally took the decision to share his diagnosis, and his experience, in the hope it may help others.
But he has deliberately not confirmed the type of cancer he is being treated for so he doesn’t detract from the significance of other forms of the illness.
It is also unclear what type of treatment he has specifically had, but he has regularly been in London for private appointments.
The King shared he was diagnosed with a form of cancer in February. Pic: PA
Dame Laura Lee, chief executive of the cancer support charity Maggie’s – of which Queen Camilla is patron – said: “It’s very common for treatment to be ongoing for very long periods of time, as is the treatment that the Princess of Wales went through, which is an intense period of treatment over a year, and then it comes to a point where it’s on an end, and she’s on that recovery from some of the impacts of her treatment.
“So we’ve got immunotherapy, chemotherapy, surgery, hormone therapy. There are all sorts of different treatment modalities. And so it’s not surprising at all.”
Speaking more widely about the openness of both the King and the Princess of Wales, she added: “What we’ve heard from our centre visitors, it’s been good that they haven’t just shone a light on one specific cancer type, but they’ve shone a light on cancer as a whole, and that there’s varying treatment and varying impacts and varying different ways of navigating the challenges that cancer bring.
“And I think that approach has been much more effective and positive for the cancer community. I know firsthand that everyone is so grateful to them for doing that.”
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Later, the King and Queen will carry out their last big public engagement before they begin their Christmas break, meeting local community volunteers, young people, emergency services, and faith representatives in Waltham Forest.
For their final visit of the year they wanted to thank and celebrate communities who responded to the violent disorder that flared up in the summer following the Southport stabbings.
The royal couple will talk to some of the Waltham Forest residents who attended a peaceful anti-racism protest in early August, demonstrating the true community spirit of the borough.
Waltham Forest has been officially recognised as a Borough of Sanctuary, meaning it values and celebrates the migrants, refugees, and people seeking sanctuary who have settled there.
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Their visit comes as palace sources told us “the intention is for the monarch to return to a full programme of public duties next year”, with planning for the first half of the year involving “an exciting mix of national and international events”.
At the end of their tour of Australia and Samoa, a senior palace official said the trip had lifted the King’s spirits, his mood, and his recovery, and that they were “working on a pretty normal-looking full overseas tour programme for next year”.
The source added a fuller schedule “is a high for us to end on, to know that we can be thinking in those terms, subject to sign-off by doctors”.
We’ve also been told that despite everything that has happened this year, the King and Queen seem happier than they did at the end of last year, partly perhaps because they are more settled in their new roles, but also because of the outpouring of kindness they have received from members of the public.
Sir Keir Starmer has joined other European leaders in Kyiv to press Russia to agree an unconditional 30-day ceasefire.
The prime minister is attending the summit alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, recently-elected German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
It is the first time the leaders of the four countries have travelled to Ukraine at the same time – arriving in the capital by train – with their meeting hosted by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Sir Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz travelling in the saloon car of a special train to Kyiv. Pic: Reuters
Leaders arrive in Kyiv by train. Pic: PA
It comes after Donald Trump called for “ideally” a 30-day ceasefire between Kyiv and Moscow, and warned that if any pause in the fighting is not respected “the US and its partners will impose further sanctions”.
Security and defence analyst Michael Clarke told Sky News presenter Samantha Washington the European leaders are “rowing in behind” the US president, who referred to his “European allies” for the first time in this context in a post on his Truth Social platform.
“So this meeting is all about heaping pressure on the Russians to go along with the American proposal,” he said.
“It’s the closest the Europeans and the US have been for about three months on this issue.”
Sir Keir Starmer, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Emmanuel Macron among world leaders in Kyiv. Pic: AP
Trump calls for ceasefire. Pic: Truth Social
Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said Ukraine and its allies are ready for a “full, unconditional ceasefire” for at least 30 days starting on Monday.
Ahead of the meeting on Saturday, Sir Keir, Mr Macron, Mr Tusk and Mr Merz released a joint statement.
European leaders show solidarity – but await Trump’s backing
The hope is Russia’s unilateral ceasefire, such as it’s worth, can be extended for a month to give peace a chance.
But ahead of the meeting, Ukrainian sources told Sky News they are still waiting for President Donald Trump to put his full weight behind the idea.
The US leader has said a 30-day ceasefire would be ideal, but has shown no willingness yet for putting pressure on Russian president Vladimir Putin to agree.
The Russians say a ceasefire can only come after a peace deal can be reached.
European allies are still putting their hopes in a negotiated end to the war despite Moscow’s intransigence and President Trump’s apparent one-sided approach favouring Russia.
Ukrainians would prefer to be given enough economic and military support to secure victory.
But in over three years, despite its massive economic superiority to Russia and its access to more advanced military technology, Europe has not found the political will to give Kyiv the means to win.
Until they do, Vladimir Putin may decide it is still worth pursuing this war despite its massive cost in men and materiel on both sides.
“We reiterate our backing for President Trump’s calls for a peace deal and call on Russia to stop obstructing efforts to secure an enduring peace,” they said.
“Alongside the US, we call on Russia to agree a full and unconditional 30-day ceasefire to create the space for talks on a just and lasting peace.”
Sir Keir and Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a meeting in March. Pic: AP
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The leaders said they were “ready to support peace talks as soon as possible”.
But they warned that they would continue to “ratchet up pressure on Russia’s war machine” until Moscow agrees to a lasting ceasefire.
“We are clear the bloodshed must end, Russia must stop its illegal invasion, and Ukraine must be able to prosper as a safe, secure and sovereign nation within its internationally recognised borders for generations to come,” their statement added.
“We will continue to increase our support for Ukraine.”
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The European leaders are set to visit the Maidan, a central square in Ukraine’s capital where flags represent those who died in the war.
They are also expected to host a virtual meeting for other leaders in the “coalition of the willing” to update them on progress towards a peacekeeping force.
Military officers from around 30 countries have been involved in drawing up plans for a coalition, which would provide a peacekeeping force in the event of a ceasefire being agreed between Russia and Ukraine.
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This force “would help regenerate Ukraine’s armed forces after any peace deal and strengthen confidence in any future peace”, according to Number 10.
A special constable has been jailed after taking pictures on his phone from bodycam footage showing a dying man.
Former police volunteer William Heggs, 23, was sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment at Leicester Crown Court on Friday after showing the photos of victim William Harty, 28, to a female colleague and storing them on his Snapchat account.
Mr Harty was found seriously injured in a residential street in Leicester on 25 October 2021 and Heggs had attended the scene, helping with CPR before paramedics arrived.
Mr Harty died in hospital a day later and the man responsible for his injuries, his brother-in-law Martin Casey, was subsequently convicted of his manslaughter.
Heggs showed the pictures he had taken of bodycam footage of Mr Harty’s body to a Leicestershire Police constable, who reported Heggs and said she did not like seeing blood.
His phone was seized and officers discovered other photographs and video clips of bodyworn footage of incidents Heggs had attended on duty, including of a knife seizure, use of baton and pepper spray, and a man with an injured hand receiving first aid.
He also took pictures of a police computer screen, showing details of crimes and suspects, without consent.
Heggs stored the materials in a Snapchat folder and disclosed graphic details – most of which were not in the public domain – about the injuries to a woman who was killed in a road traffic collision he had attended, to a friend on the social media platform.
Heggs was suspended from the force in November 2021 and resigned in October 2024 before pleading guilty to 11 computer misuse and data protection offences this March.
William Harty’s widow Mandy Casey. Pic: PA
‘He has traumatised me’
Mr Harty’s widow, Mandy Casey, said in a victim impact statement read to the court that Heggs “took (her) husband’s dignity when he was most vulnerable”.
“You don’t take someone’s dignity and pride from them on their deathbed.”
She continued: “When I found out special constable Heggs had done this, I just wanted to ask why. He has traumatised me. I feel I will never know if he showed them to others.”
Ms Casey said she was still scared that photos of her husband’s body might appear on social media.
She added that she had lost trust in the police.
Public trust in police ‘significantly undermined’
Judge Timothy Spencer told Heggs, who has autism and ADHD, that he was “probably too immature to be working as a police officer” as he handed down the sentence.
He said Heggs had received “extensive training”, including on the importance of data protection, and knew he should only share materials for “a genuine policing purpose”.
Heggs’s actions had “significantly undermined” public trust and confidence in police, according to the judge.
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Malcolm McHaffie, from the Crown Prosecution Service, added: “William Heggs abused the public’s trust in the office he held as a special police constable.
“He violated the dignity of the deceased victims for no apparent reason other than what could be considered personal fascination and to gain credibility among his peers.”
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