Peter Phillips opened up about King Charles’ cancer diagnosis ― and revealed what’s causing the monarch the most frustration.
Phillips, who is the son of Princess Anne and her first husband, Mark Phillips, is the king’s nephew.
The royal family member told Sky News Australia in an interview over the weekend that while the king is “in good spirits,” he’s also “hugely frustrated.”
“He’s frustrated that he can’t get on and do everything that he wants to be able to do,” Phillips said. “But he is very pragmatic. He understands that there’s a period of time that he really needs to focus on himself.”
“But at the same time, he is always pushing his staff and everybody and his doctors and nurses to be able to say, ‘Actually, can I do this? Can I do that?’” Phillips continued. “So the overriding message would be that he’s obviously very keen to get back to a form of normality. And he’s probably frustrated that recovery is taking a little longer than he would want it to.”
Buckingham Palace announced on Feb. 5 that Charles had been diagnosed with cancer but did not specify the type or severity of it.
The cancer was discovered after a procedure the king underwent for an enlarged prostate.
On Friday, after months of speculation and false conspiracy theories, Kate Middleton revealed that she had also been diagnosed with cancer.
The Princess of Wales said in a video message that her cancer was discovered after abdominal surgery. Initially, her condition was deemed non-cancerous.
“This, of course, came as a huge shock, and William and I have been doing everything we can to process and manage this privately for the sake of our young family,” she said.
Following Kate’s message, Buckingham Palace released a statement saying that the king is “so proud of Catherine for her courage in speaking as she did.”
The spokesperson added that Charles has “remained in the closest contact with his beloved daughter-in-law throughout the past weeks.”