King Charles has used his annual TV message to give personal thanks to the medical staff who have cared for him this year. 

Charles announced his cancer diagnosis in February, the same time as his daughter-in-law Kate shared she was having abdominal surgery. She later revealed she too would be undergoing chemotherapy as a preventative cancer treatment. 

While he made no specific reference to either his own or his daughter-in-law’s illness, Charles broke with tradition to record his TV message in the chapel of the former Middlesex Hospital in London, and he said: 

“I offer heartfelt thanks to doctors and nurses who have this year have supported me and other members of my family through the uncertainties and anxieties of illness, with strength, care and comfort. 

“Also those who’ve offered kind words of sympathy and encouragement.”

Charles added that “all of us go through suffering” and he took the occasion to reach out to those affected by conflict in 2024,  particularly those in the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Africa.

He also referred to his meeting earlier in the year with D-Day veterans at an event marking the 80th anniversary of the turning point of World War II. He said of his encounters with the now elderly soldiers: “It touched us deeply… their tradition of service and selflessness continue to inspire.”