New pictures of King Charles III have raised widespread alarm in Britain following the monarch's visibly frail appearance at a joint event with Prince William at the COP30 climate summit in London.

According to RadarOnline, the 76-year-old King, who has been receiving cancer treatment since early 2025, seemed thinner and whiter than in earlier public outings. Buckingham Palace still maintains that the King is "doing well" and "carrying out light duties."

"His suit was hanging off him," said one insider to #ShuterScoop. "He looked like a man fighting something bigger than he's letting on."

Though palace officials keep up a cheerful public appearance, senior aides in private admit to anxiety behind the scenes. "The optics are impossible to spin," confessed one source.

King Charles's diagnosis, confirmed earlier this year, has restricted his public schedule. Insiders indicate the King's health issues are having a visible impact.

"They're quietly preparing William to step up — fast," one senior courtier divulged. "The illusion of perfect health is collapsing."

Veteran royal watchers are worried, too. "You can't Photoshop frailty," opined one palace observer. "What we're seeing is the reality behind the crown — a monarch in decline."

The King returned to public duties in April 2024, having suspended engagements on a temporary basis for three months following advice from doctors, although he persisted with state business privately. Palace officials confirmed that treatment is still ongoing.

According to PEOPLE, during a trip on September 3 to Midland Metropolitan University Hospital in Smethwick, King Charles met cancer patient Matthew Shinda, 73, providing a personal update of which there are few. "I'm not too bad," the monarch said to him when asked how his recovery was going.

Shinda talked about delays in diagnosis, to which the King said, "I'm very sorry about that, it's so frustrating. Half the problem is detecting it, isn't it, in time." He went on to say, "The great thing, I think, is they're getting better and better at dealing with these things. The trouble is there's always hope down the road."

King Charles also exchanged a lighter moment with 85-year-old Jacqueline Page in the hospital's acute elderly care ward. When she told him that she was "wearing out," he joked, "I know, this is the terrible thing, as I am discovering already. The bits don't work so well when you get past 70."

Royal sources say plans are in motion for Prince William to take on additional responsibilities if necessary, mirroring increasing concern over the King's health, almost two years since he was diagnosed with cancer.

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King Charles III, Royal family news