King Charles in Good Spirits as He Hosts His Largest Indoor Engagement Yet amid Cancer Treatment

King Charles conducted a key forward-facing royal duty for the first time in months following his cancer diagnosis

King Charles in Good Spirits as He Hosts His Largest Indoor Engagement Yet amid Cancer Treatment
The King, 75, resumed a major duty for the first time in months

By Janine Henni Updated on May 14, 2024 10:17AM EDT
The Most Reverend and Right Honourable Justin Welby, from London, Archbishop of Canterbury, is made a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order by King Charles III at Windsor Castle.
King Charles and the Most Reverend and Right Honourable Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, at Windsor Castle on May 14, 2024. PHOTO: PA IMAGES / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO
King Charles conducted a key forward-facing royal duty for the first time in months following his cancer diagnosis.

On May 14, the King, 75, helmed an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle where more than 50 recipients were recognized, in what’s reported to be his largest indoor engagement to date. King Charles resumed public duties on April 30 following the Buckingham Palace announcement about his health on Feb. 5, and the sovereign spent the following months working behind the scenes and hosting small audiences at the advice of doctors to “postpone public-facing duties” after starting treatment.

The King seemed to be in good spirits at the investiture, where he appointed the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby as a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order on the occasion of the coronation in May 2023. As the most senior bishop in the Church of England, Welby led the ceremony at Westminster Abbey last spring where King Charles and Queen Camilla were symbolically crowned and did the honors of placing the crowns on their heads.