Royal shock: King Charles in the fight of his life

Not even a year into his reign as King of England, the monarch has been dealt a shocking blow. A cancer diagnosis. Such a diagnosis is a shock for anyone, but being king brings with it an added level of complexity and scrutiny. Media attention, rumours and family logistics will no doubt add extra pressure on the royal family whilst they navigate this difficult time. Sky News All Stars Piers Morgan and Peter Stefanovic take a look at what we know so far about the King's cancer battle. The world was left shocked after Buckingham Palace released a statement confirming King Charles has been diagnosed with cancer, says Sky News All Star Piers Morgan. Okay, well Sarah, let's start with you just on this breaking news. I got told just after five o'clock there's a massive statement coming from Buckingham Palace about King Charles and we think it's cancer. And I read the statement maybe just a few minutes before it went out. It was shocking. You don't read this kind of thing about a senior member of the royal family. And yet it comes just after the previous health statements about both Charles having his prostate operation, which was for a benign situation, and for Kate, the Princess of Wales. A lot of health stories about the royals and this appears to be by far the most serious. Yes, and you're right, it has come as a shock because we know the King went into hospital for a planned procedure on an enlarged prostate, a benign enlarged prostate we were told. We thought that that was very typical for a man of his age and we were told that he'd put that diagnosis out there because he wanted to raise awareness. He did have to stay in hospital a little bit longer than we had initially thought. He was in for three nights. He had regular visits from Queen Camilla during that period. And it was during that procedure that an area of concern was noticed. Well, I wonder about the timing because I'm told by people close to the royals that as late as like two days ago, yesterday, everything seemed fine. And it seems to me what may be more likely, and maybe Dr. Marseille can tell us this, is that they took some of his prostate away for further examination in that operation he had. And then something nasty turned up, which was nothing to do with the prostate, but it revealed another cancer in his body. And I think that this has come as a shock to everybody, from what I can tell, even senior members of the royal family had no idea this was coming. Absolutely, and we saw the King and the Queen at Sandringham yesterday. We do understand that they knew last week. Queen Camilla opened a Maggie's Cancer Care Centre and we're told that she did that knowing the diagnosis. We think that she knew by that point. My understanding is that she carried on with that engagement and it will have taken on an added significance, of course, for her. We know that the King told his siblings, Anne, Edward and Andrew. We don't know before this was made public and spoke to both sons. Piers Morgan went on to say this is the latest blow in a string of shocking events that has plagued the royal family over the past 18 months. And that the royal family already reeling from the deaths of Prince Philip, from Her Majesty the Queen, from the double health blow that we heard several weeks ago of Charles and Kate. And now this, that our new monarch has cancer. Well, it does come as a shock, but on the other hand, I must tell you that before Christmas, someone, a neighbour of his in Highgrove, did tell me that the King wasn't well. And also warned that Queen Camilla is not perfect health either. So I think that although it seems like it's a great shock tonight to us, I think this has been coming for some time. But despite the serious diagnosis, the Sunday Times Royal Editor, Roya Nicker, says the official statement from Buckingham Palace reveals signs of hope. Roy, I want to read the Buckingham Palace statement in full and then get your reaction to this. It says, during the King's recent hospital procedure for benign prostate enlargement, a separate issue of concern was noted. Subsequent diagnostic tests have identified a form of cancer. His Majesty has today commenced to schedule regular treatments, during which time he's been advised by doctors to postpone public-facing duties. Throughout this period, His Majesty will continue to undertake state business and official paperwork as usual. The King is grateful to his medical team for their swift intervention, which was made possible thanks to his recent hospital procedure. He remains wholly positive about his treatment and looks forward to returning to full public duty as soon as possible. His Majesty has chosen to share his diagnosis to prevent speculation and in the hope it may assist public understanding for all those around the world affected by cancer. So Roya, I mean, that was a bombshell statement. And as always with royal statements, you kind of look for the devil in the detail, if you like. And I've got to say, like I said, I think this is quite a serious situation, which has emerged from a not so serious situation, which was the procedure for the benign prostate enlargement. This is clearly a separate and is a cancer. It's a different thing altogether. And it's more serious. You can't detract from the fact that cancer is a very serious diagnosis, whatever form it is, and we don't know what form it is yet. We're told, you know, he may choose to share more information down the line during his treatment. But just to your point about, you know, always unpicking statements from the palace. I have to say, I actually looked at that statement and some of the guidance that we've had tonight, some background guidance we've had from the palace, particularly the items about no counsellors of state being needed. So we are not going to see Prince William or Prince Edward or Anne stepping in constitutionally for the king. It's been made very clear, quite sort of firmly, that constitutionally at the moment, nothing has changed. The king is going to keep doing his affairs of state, his red boxes. We just won't see him in public so much. So, yes, it's very serious. He's got cancer. But at the same time, that phrase, you know, he is wholly positive about his treatment and that he is still doing affairs of state. I read that as actually quite a hopeful sign. Talk TV's royal editor Sarah Hewson agreed, revealing UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has provided some positive news, saying the king's cancer was caught early. Cancer. But we don't know what kind of cancer. We don't know the type of timeframes involved in the treatment that he started yesterday as an outpatient. But we have had word in the last few minutes here from the British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who says, thankfully, the king's cancer was caught early, which will be reassuring to many and that hopefully he'll be making a speedy recovery. But Piers Morgan isn't so sure. He maintains this situation is very serious, as the king will be cancelling all public engagements during his treatment. But for a new king of less than a year to no longer be doing any engagements in front of the public, I just think, you know, knowing Charles as I have for a long time, not particularly closely, but having followed his his life, this is a tough guy, a very fit guy, used to yomping around the highlands and leading a very fit, active life. For him to basically retreat from public life in the way that he is. Yes, he may be saying he's wholly positive. I wouldn't expect anything else. But I think this must be a serious situation because he is cancelling all public engagements, apparently, while he undergoes his treatment. I mean, there's no doubt that, you know, cancer is serious for anyone. But I think in terms of sort of retreating from public view when, you know, depending on what his treatment involves, the palace and the royal family and the king himself will want to minimise, you know, the health risk to him in terms of. It's one thing to meet with the prime minister and have an audience with him, as we're told. Hopefully he will continue to do that and meet with the council. It's another thing to be at a Buckingham Palace reception with 300 people in the room, which I think is why, you know, erring on the side of caution for the head of state, for a monarch, he's withdrawn. But of course, you cannot shy away from the fact that the king, as you say, just a year and a half into his reign, is having to withdraw from public life temporarily, we hope, is a huge blow to him, a huge blow to his reign. It's going to be a big challenge for him and the family to run around. Yeah. Prince Harry rushed to be by his father's side as soon as he found out about the king's cancer diagnosis, reveals Sky News all-star Peter Stefanowicz. Within 24 hours of his father's diagnosis being made public, Prince Harry was at his father's side today. He flew in from California alone and went straight to Clarence House. But father and son didn't have long together before the king and queen went back to Sandringham. Prince Harry looked strange as he was driven from the airport in a convoy of cars to the king's London home. Shortly afterwards, a smiling king was seen for the first time since his cancer diagnosis. He travelled by car with Queen Camilla the short distance to Buckingham Palace. These pictures filmed outside the palace show the king's motorcade heading into the grounds as well-wishers looked on. A helicopter then lifted from the grounds of Buckingham Palace. It's believed the monarch will spend the evening at Sandringham. And it was business as usual for other senior royals today. Princess Anne, who will be rallying around her brother in the coming weeks, handed out medals at an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle. And it's understood Harry and William have no plans to meet while the Duke of Sussex is in London. But despite Harry's dash to be back in the UK, royal commentator Dickie Arbiter says he's not holding his breath for a reconciliation. Soon after this diagnosis was made public, we got word that Harry was making that dash back to the UK. Might this be a moment that brings the family back together or is that a little naive of me? Well, don't hold your breath on that one. I mean, Harry hasn't done the right thing since he walked out of the UK at the beginning of 2020. The fact that he is coming back to see his dad is a good move on his part. It is a polite move. It is a just move. And one can only hope that there would be some form of reconciliation. But so much water has gone out of the bridge and so much rubbishing of the family. It takes a very soft person to sort of turn the other cheek, forgive and forget. You can forgive, but you never forget. So Harry coming, we just have to wait and see. We're not going to get any announcements. We're not going to get any idea of the sort of rapport between the two men. Unless Harry releases it when he gets back to the United States, anything can happen on that front. And I think we have to err on the side of caution in terms of a renewed relationship. But he's coming to see his dad because he has cancer. It's the right thing to do. I applaud him for that. Let's just wait and see what comes off the back of it. King Charles' cancer diagnosis has also raised questions about the fragility of the royal family moving forward. Especially after Charles' decision to slim down the number of working royals following his ascension to the throne, discusses Piers Morgan. Andrew Neil, if I could come back to you for a moment. You know, we've covered the royals for many, many decades and they've always been the biggest story in town. And like you say, the news of the King's diagnosis is leading the news around the world, not least in America, where it's huge. I've had loads of calls from people wanting interviews about this already, so you can see how big a story this is. But does it also point to the fragility of our royal family right now? We've lost the great matriarch in the Queen. We lost the great patriarch in Prince Philip. We've now got the Princess of Wales who's having months off work because of, we don't know what it was that she had, but it was obviously pretty serious. We've got Charles now, the new monarch who has cancer. You know, if you look at the top list of royals, this is a big moment, isn't it? I mean, this is, like I say, this points to the fragility of the whole thing. It's come at a bad time. Of course, cancer diagnosis has never come at a good time, but there are families. We've gone from surplus to famine very, very quickly. I mean, a lot of people say, I don't mind the King or the Queen. I don't mind the very top royals, but I don't like all these hangers-on. Well, a lot of the so-called, my mother used to call them hangers-on. Well, these kind of royals seem to have stopped hanging on. They've disappeared now. Prince Andrew's no longer in the game. Prince Harry counted himself out along with Meghan. The Princess of Wales is not being well, so William has refused himself too. We now have a royal family that's pretty short-handed. And, of course, this will put huge strain on the Queen at a very difficult time for her, but also more strain on William, who was hoping to step back and look after his wife. He is now under pressure and will succumb to that pressure to get back into public life and pick up some of these public engagements. So it's the productivity of the remaining senior members of the royal family who are able to do what royals should be doing, not many of them anymore, but that will have to increase in the weeks and months ahead. And I think the other thing to look for, this is just a breaking story because, as you know, we do not know what kind of cancer it is. All cancer is scary and bad. We do not know the treatment that the King is getting or what impact the treatment will have on the King himself, which I think is very important. So I think in the days and probably the weeks ahead, we'll get a better idea of whether the King will be able to carry on in private with his important duties and eventually come back to public life, or whether it's so serious that even in private his duties are now hard to carry out. That, to my mind, is the thing to look for in the weeks ahead. Once announced, King Charles' health news travelled quickly across the globe, drawing concern from world leaders, says Peter Stefanovic. Yeah, worldwide reaction too. Here's what US President Joe Biden had to say in Las Vegas when asked about the King's health by reporters. Concerned about him, just heard his diagnosis, but I'll be talking to him God willing. Meanwhile, the British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has written online wishing His Majesty a full and speedy recovery. I've no doubt he'll be back to full strength in no time, and I know the whole country will be wishing him well.