King Charles and Sarah Ferguson have ‘bonded’ over cancer battles ‘with exchange of letters’, source claims
King Charles and the Duchess of York have ‘bonded’ over their cancer battles with ‘an exchange of letters’, a royal source has claimed.
Both Charles and Sarah Ferguson have been diagnosed with the disease this year, and have reportedly supported each other with heartfelt letters.
Sarah, 64, who has previously battled breast cancer, was diagnosed with skin cancer, while the King has been found to have an unspecified form of the disease.
The monarch, 75, began his treatment at a London hospital this week, and is reportedly ‘wholly positive’ of his prognosis and ‘looks forward to returning to full public duty as soon as possible’.
After news of her skin cancer diagnosis, the Mirror reports Charles wrote to the Duchess of York to offer his support and well wishes.
Fergie has since returned this gesture after news of the King’s battle became public.
A source said: ‘The King and Sarah are incredibly fond of one another and now they have bonded over their respective cancer diagnosis with an exchange of letters.
‘Cancer is a wicked disease that affects so many individuals and their families and it’s clear that extra support from loved ones and the extended cancer community can help immeasurably.’
This week, Sarah attended a cancer charity fundraiser and gave a speech in which she shared a touching tribute to King Charles, urging him to ‘keep fighting on’.
At the Cancer Alliance of Help and Hope event in Florida, she said: ‘I want to thank you all for your kindness in supporting my family members who are going through a hard time, and we wish everyone well, every family in the world, that has been diagnosed or who is going through a difficult time, we wish them well.
‘And of course, my brother-in-law, we wish you well, keep fighting on.’
She added: ‘The cancer alliance is about hope, and there isn’t enough hope in the world.
‘For anyone who’s suffering from low hope, for anyone who believes they can’t do this, they can, it’s absolute nonsense.’
The first sign that anything was amiss with King Charles’ health came on January 17 when Buckingham Palace made a surprise announcement that the King had ‘sought treatment’ for an enlarged prostate.
He chose to go public about his prostate treatment, with the aim of encouraging more men to get prostate checks, the palace said at the time.
Shortly afterwards, palace officials also revealed he chose to share his cancer diagnosis in the hope it would ‘assist public understanding for all those around the world who are affected by cancer’.
No further details on Charles’ condition have been shared, other than he remains ‘wholly positive’ and is looking forward to returning to full public duties.