Shoppers in a Buckinghamshire town have expressed their support and solidarity with King Charles III following news of his cancer diagnosis.
Residents in High Wycombe have shared the ‘sadness and shock’ they experienced after learning that King Charles III was diagnosed with cancer.
Buckingham Palace made the announcement last night and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said today (February 6) that the king’s cancer had been “caught early” amid news that he is set to begin regular treatments.
Shoppers of all ages on High Wycombe High Street have shared their sympathy for the monarch, with many believing that the 75-year-old king's recent diagnosis contributes to a more human image for the royal family.
Robert Turner, 63, who lives in High Wycombe, said he wished King Charles well and hopes he makes a speedy recovery, adding: “When he went into hospital for his prostate, he increased the number of other people doing the same and that’s a good thing. Awareness is important and I’m sure he’ll be open about what it is. People will say, ‘Oh, if he can live with this, so can I’.”
Melanie James, 19, and Megan Raymond, 21, who also both live in the town, said the news was a reminder that the royal family are not so dissimilar to anyone else.
Melanie said: “I think it just reminds everyone that they’re normal people. When you hear about the royal family, you think, ‘Oh, they wouldn’t get things like that or experience that’, then when you hear the king has cancer, that changes it.
Megan added: “It’s sad for anyone to get cancer, it doesn’t matter who you are.”
Divya Jinesh, 50, who is visiting High Wycombe from India, said: “It was really sad to hear the news. My mum passed away from cancer, so I know that the person who goes through it has so much suffering. It’s good he’s being open about it, and I hope he comes out the other side.”
Ian Donegan, 51, from Farnham Common said he had been “surprised” by the announcement, adding: “I’m no royalist, but I wouldn’t wish that on anybody. Because he’s a royal I’m sure there will be negative reactions, but at the end of the day he’s a dad and a grandfather.”
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H. Johnson, 66, who lives in High Wycombe, said: “I feel sad for anyone with cancer because I’ve seen people die from it. My auntie who’s in her 90s is being treated for leukaemia so when I saw this, my first thought was ‘It can affect any person’. We’ve just had one monarchy death – it would be too quick; it would be awful.”
Max Newman, 32, said he was “really sad” to hear the news and “hopes the king gets better”, adding that he was “surprised” by the diagnosis because the monarch had always “seemed pretty healthy”.
Natalie Morgan, 53, from Marlow, said she hoped King Charles’s cancer would be “treatable” and that she was “glad he’s not keeping it all a big secret”, although she’d “like to know what type of cancer”, even just to satisfy personal curiosity.
Charly Walker, 29, from High Wycombe, and Steph Furness, 33, from Crowthorne, said they were “sorry that he waited all this time and, now that he’s on the throne, he’s not well”.
Charly added: “I think it’s good to raise awareness – they are human beings at the end of the day.”
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