King Charles Quips 'I'm Still Alive' at Final Engagement Before Royal Family Christmas

Mar. 15, 2025

King Charles leaves Waltham Forest Town Hall in London on Dec. 20, 2024.Photo:Wiktor Szymanowicz/Anadolu via Getty

Wiktor Szymanowicz/Anadolu via Getty

King Charlescracked a joke about his well-being during his final day out for work before the royal family convenes for Christmas.

On Dec. 20, the King, 76, andQueen Camillaattended a reception at Waltham Forest Town Hall to celebrate community cohesion in the borough of east London, where the sovereign quipped about endurance when someone asked how he was. Buckingham Palace announced in February that the King wasdiagnosed with cancer, and palace sources have confirmed that his treatment will continue into next year.

“I’m still alive,” King Charles joked in reply with a smile, which made Rattan chuckle.

King Charles arrives in Fellowship Square to attend a reception at Waltham Forest Town Hall in London on Dec. 20, 2024.Wiktor Szymanowicz/Anadolu via Getty

The King and Queen’s latest outing came on the same day that palace sources confirmed Charles' cancer treatment will extend into next year, but is moving “in a very positive direction.”

Aides have signaled that the sovereign will continue to receive treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer as he nears the one-year anniversary of his diagnosis, which the palace now describes as a “managed condition.”

King Charles meets Caroline Akuffo, who shows a photo of them meeting in Japan in 1970, on Dec. 20, 2024 in London.Mina Kim - WPA Pool / Getty

Mina Kim - WPA Pool / Getty

“His treatment has been moving in a positive direction and as a managed condition the treatment cycle will continue into next year,” palace sources said on Dec. 20. The King has had a full calendar in recent weeks, and future trips around the U.K. and abroad are penciled into his schedule.

The day after hosting a traditionalpre-Christmas lunchfor the extended royal family at Buckingham Palace on Dec. 19, King Charles and Queen Camilla went to the reception at Waltham Forest Town Hall. There, the royal couple met community volunteers, young people, emergency service personnel and faith representatives from the area recognized as a Borough of Sanctuary.

King Charles speaks with a guest during a reception at Waltham Forest Town Hall in London on Dec. 20, 2024.MINA KIM/POOL/AFP via Getty

MINA KIM/POOL/AFP via Getty

The event celebrated Waltham Forest’s strong sense of community following the borough’s peaceful anti-racism protest in August, organized as a response to the disorder that devastated the United Kingdom over the summer.

Queen Camilla speaks with a guest at a reception at Waltham Forest Town Hall in London on Dec. 20, 2024.MINA KIM/POOL/AFP via Getty

Like her father-in-law the King, Princess Kate navigated a difficult year after announcing in March that she was receivingcancer treatment, and said in September that shecompleted chemotherapy. Breaking with past precedent, Prince William and Princess Katedidn’t goto the King’s lunch before Christmas at the palace on Dec. 19, which brought much of the family together.

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It emerged that the Prince and Princess of Wales were never expected to attend the holiday meal, and the couple are already in Norfolk with their kidsPrince George, 11,Princess Charlotte, 9, andPrince Louis, 6, where they have a country home.

The Wales family is set to spend Christmas at Sandringham with the King as usual, and William and Kate are looking forward to catching up with family then. The King and Queen’s Dec. 20 engagement is expected to be their last one before the upcoming holiday.

Step inside the royals' holiday traditions with PEOPLE’s Special Edition:Christmas at the Palace: A Royal Family Album.

source: people.com