Buckingham Palace confirmed Tuesday that Britain’s head of state, King Charles III, will attend an Easter Sunday church service, his most high-profile activity since confirming his cancer diagnosis.
Charles and his wife, Queen Camilla, will attend the Easter Mattins Service in St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle, which is a long-standing annual tradition for the British royal family.
The announcement comes after the king’s 75-year-old daughter-in-law, Catherine, Princess of Wales, revealed last week that she is also undergoing cancer treatment.
As a result, the monarchy is facing an unprecedented crisis in modern times, with two of its most senior members suffering from terrible illnesses at once.
Catherine, 42, is married to Prince William, Charles’ eldest son and heir, making her the future queen.
Charles was only 17 months into his reign when the palace revealed in early February that he had cancer and would be stopping all public appearances while he underwent treatment.
He was admitted for surgery for a benign prostate problem in January, but was later diagnosed with an unrelated cancer.
The type of cancer has not been revealed.
He has continued to work behind the scenes, meeting with people in person, and attending official events more frequently.
On Tuesday, he was spotted welcoming community and church groups at Buckingham Palace in central London.
Last week, images showed him visiting diplomats at the palace, as well as Korean War veterans, at two separate events.
Charles stated earlier this month that he would continue to serve “to the best of my ability” and that he had been “deeply touched” by people’s well-wishes for his health.
He thanked Kate, as she is commonly known, for her bravery last week, announcing in a video message that she was undergoing chemotherapy.
She was last seen at a public event on December 25 and underwent stomach surgery in January, during which cancer was discovered.
Her Kensington Palace staff stated at the time that she was not expected to be ready to resume public activities until after Easter.