U.K News

King Charles III’s Openness About Cancer Has Helped Him Connect With People In Year After Coronation

Published

7 months ago

2024-05-05

AP News - VOR News Image

LONDON — King Charles III’s decision to be candid about his cancer condition has helped the new monarch connect with the British people and strengthened the monarchy in the year since his glittering coronation at Westminster Abbey.

Charles has utilized his sickness to highlight the importance of early diagnosis and treatment, demonstrating leadership during personal pain. In the process, people have come to regard him as a more real-life character who faces the same issues as them rather than just an archetype of money and luxury.

“Ultimately, the great leveler is health,” said Anna Whitelock, a professor of monarchical history at City University in London. “The royal family, like many other families, is dealing with a cancer diagnosis. “And I believe that has taken the energy out of major challenges to the king.”

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King Charles III’s Openness About Cancer Has Helped Him Connect With People In Year After Coronation

Questions remain. Can a 1,000-year-old inherited monarchy represent modern Britain? How will the institution respond to criticism about its ties to imperialism and slavery? Should an elected head of state replace the monarchy?

However, for the time being, such difficulties have been largely left aside as the 75-year-old king receives treatment for an unnamed type of cancer.

Of all the issues experts predicted the royal family would encounter in the year following Charles’ coronation, the events of the previous five months have taken Britain by surprise.

Charles was first treated for an enlarged prostate, after which he revealed his cancer diagnosis. The news that Kate, the Princess of Wales and Prince William’s wife, also had cancer followed this.

Both withdrew from public service to focus on their health. William followed suit to support his wife and the couple’s three small children.

The septuagenarian monarch was unwell, and so was the much younger future queen. Her husband needs to help out. Suddenly, the royal family appeared much more vulnerable and human.

With three senior royals out of the picture, the Windsors were stretched thin as they attempted to keep up with the never-ending whirlwind of ceremonial appearances, awards presentations, and ribbon cuttings that comprise modern royal life.

Queen Camilla stepped into the breach.

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King Charles III’s Openness About Cancer Has Helped Him Connect With People In Year After Coronation

Camilla was once regarded as a scourge of the House of Windsor due to her role in the dissolution of Charles’ marriage to the late Princess Diana, but she has since emerged as one of the monarchy’s most famous ambassadors. The queen’s increased appearance schedule helped keep the royal family in the public eye.

Wherever she traveled, royal fans sent get-well cards and encouragement to Charles and Kate.

Whitelock explained that, in many ways, the story of Charles’ first year since his coronation is about Camilla’s ascension and how effective she has been in portraying the monarch.

“The crowds reaching out to her have been quite remarkable,” she remarked. “So I think this first year has very much been the reign of Charles and Camilla in a way that we would never have imagined.”

They worked together to produce a year of stability for the monarchy despite some opponents’ expectations that Queen Elizabeth II’s death would usher in a period of change.

That does not imply Charles is without problems; many come from inside his family.

The king’s relationship with his younger son was strained even before Prince Harry and his wife Meghan abandoned royal duties and relocated to California in 2020. But the publication early last year of Harry’s bombshell memoir, “Spare,” worsened the rift with revelations about the royal family’s unconscious racism and sweetheart agreements with the tabloid press.

Then there’s Charles’ brother, Prince Andrew, whose ties to the late sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein continue to generate problems for the king. Last month, Netflix released a full-length film on the disastrous 2019 interview in which Andrew attempted to justify his relationship with Epstein.

However, over the last year, Charles has pushed to increase transparency about the monarchy’s operations, spoken out on environmental issues, and promoted interfaith dialogue, according to George Gross, a royal historian at King’s College London.

The king then decided to make his health difficulties public to illustrate the benefits of early intervention in a country where cancer survival rates are lower than in many other wealthy nations.

“He’s overcome difficulties. It’s incorrect to imply he’s taken advantage of it, since it’s a terrible situation to be in, and anyone with a cancer diagnosis will be really frightened,” Gross added. “But it has been this way that, as a head of state, he’s been able to do good with a very simple message, and I think that’s an extraordinary thing.”

Charles emphasized his message last week when he began his return to public life with a visit to a cancer facility.

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King Charles III’s Openness About Cancer Has Helped Him Connect With People In Year After Coronation

While touring the University College Hospital Macmillan Cancer Centre in central London, the king sat with Lesley Woodbridge, a 63-year-old cancer patient, and held her hand as chemotherapy medications slowly flowed into her arm.

“It’s always a bit of a shock, isn’t it, when they tell you?” He said, “I’ve got to have my treatment this afternoon as well.”

It’s the kind of personal connection that Britons don’t anticipate from the royals, who are famed for their reserved demeanor rather than their heart.

According to Michelle Mitchell, the charity’s CEO, after the king’s announcement of his illness, Cancer Research UK saw a 33% spike in website views as individuals looked for information about cancer symptoms.

That might have saved lives. And it brought people closer to the king.Mitchell noted how personal the king’s visit to the oncology clinic was.

She added that patients gladly shared their cancer stories with Charles and Camilla, and the royal couple answered with personal information about their own journey.

“I observed not just empathy, but true compassion,” Mitchell stated. “And overall, the atmosphere of the day was one of hope — but hope, I think, framed with the importance of research bringing greater progress.”

SOURCE – (AP)

U.K News

London Hit With Heavy Snow as Temperatures Plummet

Published

2 days ago

2024-11-19

Geoff Brown

London, England, has been gripped by an Arctic freeze, with temperatures dipping well below zero, snow forcing trains to stop, and over 200 schools closing in and across the UK.

Commuters faced traffic mayhem as Braemar in Aberdeenshire recorded the coldest temperature in the UK this early in the season since 1998, at -11.2C (12.2F).

Today, the Met Office issued three yellow weather warnings for snow and ice across the Midlands and North of England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.

The UK Health Security Agency issued the season’s first amber cold weather health advisory, warning that circumstances could be hazardous to vulnerable people.

Poor weather hampered rail travel, with no trains running between Nottingham and Worksop or between Llandudno and Blaenau Ffestiniog in North Wales.

A couple walks on the snow-covered ground at Pavillion Gardens in Buxton, Derbyshire.

Northern services in Yorkshire between Bradford and Huddersfield, Hebden Bridge to Halifax, and Halifax to Hull were all disrupted while flooding at Ulverston in Cumbria caused delays between Barrow-in-Furness and Lancaster.

Around 130 Welsh schools closed in Wrexham, Powys, Denbighshire, and Flintshire, with closures also reported in Birmingham, Nottinghamshire, and Derbyshire.

Nearly 5 inches (12 cm) of snow fell at Watnall in Nottinghamshire, with 3 inches (8 cm) at Cranwell in Lincolnshire and 2 inches (5 cm) at Lake Vyrnwy in Powys, Wales.

The Met Office issued warnings that vehicles might become trapped, power outages could occur, remote communities could be shut off, and falling on ice could cause injury.

England has a yellow warning until 11 a.m., while Scotland has a warning until 10 a.m. tomorrow. Another warning for Northern Ireland expired at 10 a.m.

The UK Health Security Agency issued an amber cold weather health notice for the East and North of England, the Midlands, Yorkshire, and the Humber.

Yellow health alerts went into effect for the South East, South West, and London at 8 a.m. today and will run until 6 p.m. on Saturday.

National Rail warned that the cold weather would impair several routes on northern rail services until at least 2 p.m. today.

Merseyrail issued a notice informing passengers that due to the possibility of snow and ice covering tracks, the first train on each line in North West England would run without passengers to allow conditions to be examined.

National Highways also issued a strong amber weather advisory for snow, indicating that the M1 in Leeds and Sheffield, the M56 in Manchester, junction 39 of the M6, and junctions 21-23 of the M62 may see interruption.

WEATHER WARNING 1: The Met Office snow warning in Northern Ireland terminated at 10 a.m. today.

WEATHER WARNING 2: A separate snow and ice warning for Northern England until 11 a.m. today.

WEATHER WARNING 3: Scotland’s snow and ice warning is live until 10 a.m. tomorrow.

The Met Office, which characterized the weather as ‘the first taste of winter,’ said heavy snow will cause problems in England, with Derbyshire being the most vulnerable.

According to Dan Suri, the Met Office’s chief meteorologist, a low-pressure system will move eastward on Monday night.

The related frontal system, which marks the border between cold air in the north and milder weather in the south, may deliver disruptive snow to certain locations between Monday evening and Tuesday morning.

Dr. Agostinho Sousa of the UK Health Security Agency stated, “This is the first amber Cold Weather Health Alert of the season, but we can expect more as winter approaches. It is critical to check in on vulnerable friends, family, and neighbors to ensure they are well prepared for the onset of cold weather.”

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U.K News

Windsor Castle Robbed While Royal Family Slept

Published

3 days ago

2024-11-19

Geoff Brown

UK police report two men broke into the Windsor Castle estate, home to Prince William and Catherine and their three children and stole two vehicles.

According to the Sun newspaper, the robbers broke into a farm building on the Windsor estate and stole a black Isuzu pick-up truck and a red quad bike stashed in a barn.

The Prince and Princess of Wales reportedly arrived at their estate home during the nighttime burglary.

Thames Valley Police stated the individuals ran to the Old Windsor/Datchet area, but no arrests have been made.

“Offenders entered a farm building and stole vehicles,” the police added. An investigation is underway regarding the incident.

There have been previous security incidents at Windsor. On Christmas Day in 2021, an intruder was apprehended on the grounds of Windsor Castle. Jaswant Singh Chail, who was equipped with a crossbow, received a nine-year prison sentence.

The Windsor estate, located west of London, spans 15,800 acres and contains functioning farms, conservation areas, Windsor Great Park, and well-known royal attractions, including Windsor Castle.

Windsor Castle received 1.4 million visitors last year, making it the UK’s most popular royal tourist site.

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U.K News

Britain’s Conservative Party Elects Kemi Badenoch as Leader

Published

3 weeks ago

2024-11-02

Ana Wong

Conservatives pick Kemi Badenoch as party leader

U.K. Conservatives pick Kemi Badenoch as their party's new leader

Britain’s Conservative Party elected outspoken MP Kemi Badenoch as its new leader on Saturday, making her the first woman of color to lead a major British political party.

She has promised to give the right-of-center Tories “renewal” by advocating for a smaller state and rejecting identity politics.

The new leader faces a daunting challenge in restoring the party’s reputation after years of division, scandal, and economic turbulence, hammering Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s policies on key issues such as the economy and immigration and returning the Conservatives to power in the 2029 election.

“The task that stands before us is tough but simple,” Kemi Badenoch said in a victory address to a room full of Conservative legislators, staff, and journalists in London. She stated that the party’s role was to hold the Labour administration accountable while developing commitments and a government strategy.

Addressing the party’s electoral defeat, she stated, “We have to be honest — honest about the fact that we made mistakes, honest about the fact that we let standards slip.”

“The time has come to tell the truth, to stand up for our principles, to plan for our future, to reset our politics and our thinking, and to give our party, and our country, the new start that they deserve,” according to Badenoch.

Kemi Badenoch was Born in London

Kemi Badenoch, a business secretary in Sunak’s cabinet, was born in London to Nigerian parents and grew up in West Africa.

The former software engineer positions herself as a disruptor, advocating for a low-tax, free-market economy and promising to “rewire, reboot, and reprogram” the British state. Like her adversary Jenrick, she has opposed multiculturalism and advocated for decreased immigration, but unlike him, she has not asked that Britain abandon the European Convention on Human Rights.

Kemi Badenoch, a self-proclaimed hater of wokeness, opposes identity politics, gender-neutral toilets, and government initiatives to reduce carbon emissions in the United Kingdom. During the leadership race, she was chastised for claiming that “not all cultures are equally valid” and implying that maternity pay was excessive.

Tim Bale, a politics professor at Queen Mary University of London, predicted that under Badenoch, the Conservative Party would “swing to the right both in terms of its economic and social policies.”

He foretold that Badenoch will follow “what you might call the boats, boilers and bathrooms strategy …. focusing very much on the trans issue, the immigration issue and skepticism about progress towards net zero.”

Conservative Party Becoming More Diverse

While the Conservative Party is unrepresentative of the country as a whole, with a decreasing membership of 132,000 mostly affluent, elderly white men, its higher echelons have become significantly more diverse.

Badenoch is the Tories’ fourth female leader, following Margaret Thatcher, Theresa May, and Liz Truss, who became prime ministers.

She is the second Conservative leader of color, following Sunak, and the first with African heritage. The center-left Labour Party has a more diversified membership, but its leaders have always been white men.

In a more than three-month leadership contest, Conservative MPs narrowed the field from six to two in a series of votes before presenting the last two to a vote of the party’s membership.

Both finalists were from the party’s right-wing and claimed they could reclaim votes from Reform U.K., the hard-right, anti-immigrant group led by populist leader Nigel Farage that has eroded Conservative support.

However, the party lost many votes to the winning party, Labour, and the centrist Liberal Democrats, and some Conservatives are concerned that tacking right may move the party away from popular sentiment.

Kier Starmer’s Labor government has had a difficult first few months in power, plagued by unfavorable headlines, fiscal woes, and a sinking approval rating.

However, Bale stated that the historical record implies Badenoch’s chances of leading the Conservatives back to power in 2029 are slim.

“It’s quite unusual for someone to take over when a party gets very badly beaten and manage to lead it to election victory,” according to him. “However, Keir Starmer did just that after 2019. So there are records to break.”

Source: AP