Seeing King Charles at his first royal engagement since cancer diagnosis

King Charles is back. On April 30, the monarch made her return to royal duties with her first official engagement since revealing her cancer diagnosis on February 5, and for a poignant cause close to her heart.

Charles visited the Macmillan Cancer Center at University College Hospital in London and was joined by Queen Camilla for the occasion. During their visit, they spent an hour chatting with medical specialists and patients treated at the center and learned about the importance of early detection of cancer and the services offered by the university as treatment.

In photos from Charles’ visit, he is seen chatting with hospital staff and engaging in conversation with patients on the hospital floor, smiling in almost every interaction. The engagement marks Charles’ first major outing after attending the Easter church service on March 31 in Windsor.

Following the announcement of King Charles’ return to royal duties, rumors swirled that he was “not well enough” to return to the public eye. Royal expert Katie Nicholl denied the rumors, saying Entertainment tonight“My sources tell me that the king has responded very positively to his medical treatment, that his medical team is very pleased with his progress. I think the news that we are hearing from the palace really supports all of that,” because he returns to work.

She continued: “I think what we’re going to see now is that it’s the king who really champions cancer awareness. He’s very aware of the incredible attention he can bring to important causes, something he has done all his life,” Nicholl added. “He is sending a very clear message by making his first visit as he returns to public-facing duties, a visit to a cancer treatment center.”

It won’t be a real return to form, however: Charles’ schedule is nowhere near as busy as it would have been before his cancer, with Nicholl explaining that the frequency of events has been “reduced” to adapt to his illness. Still, the king is eager to get back to work and has appearances at Royal Ascot and Trooping the Color on the horizon.

“The most frustrating thing for the king about all this is that he has not been able to do the job he wanted to do,” explained the royal expert. “He’s very, very relieved to be able to get this back.”