King Charles III delivered an Easter message on Thursday stressing the importance of friendship, “especially in a time of need” — his first public remarks since Kate, the Princess of Wales, revealed she had become the second senior royal to be diagnosed with cancer.
The pre-recorded audio message comes ahead of the king attending a service on Easter Sunday, in what will be his most significant public appearance since his own cancer diagnosis in February.
Charles, 75, was heard at a traditional Maundy Thursday service at Worcester Cathedral, near Birmingham in the West Midlands, some 130 miles northwest of London.
He spoke of how Jesus set an “example of how we should serve and care for each other,” and how “we need and benefit greatly from those who extend the hand of friendship to us, especially in a time of need,” according to the Press Association, a British news agency that typically reports royal announcements.
Buckingham Palace confirmed Wednesday that the king will attend the Easter Mattins Service at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle — one of the most important spiritual events in the royal calendar.
The king did not address his daughter-in-law’s health directly nor name her in his brief personal message on Thursday. But royal watchers may interpret his words in the context of the ongoing family health crisis.
