King Charles received a standing ovation at London’s premier opera house on Thursday as he kept up his royal schedule despite cancer treatment.
The 75-year-old took to the stage at the Royal Opera House after attending a special gala performance to pay tribute to Sir Antonio Pappano, the opera house’s longtime music director who is stepping down.
The appearance came hours after Queen Camilla provided an update on the king’s health while attending a garden party in East Sussex, telling an audience that Charles is “getting better.” Captured by the royal editor of The Sunday Times, Roya Nikkhah, Camilla followed up her update adding, “Well, he would if he behaved himself.”
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The Queen has urged Charles to “slow down,” The Daily Beast reported, as she fears the extra workload could risk his recovery.
“She has been trying to encourage him to slow down,” said one friend of the queen. “Of course, he wants to keep cracking on, but she is afraid that doing too much could set him back.”
His Majesty, however, was all smiles on stage as a cheering audience applauded the king and Pappano. Charles led a tribute to Pappano’s 22-year tenure as music director of the storied Covent Garden opera house, where he most recently conducted the Coronation Orchestra at the crowning of Charles and Camilla in May 2023. The crowd gave the monarch a standing ovation as he acknowledged Pappano, and afterwards, he met with performers backstage.
According to The Sun, Charles asked one performer: “And you’re keeping alright?” After the man replied, “Yes, you?” Charles said, “I’m not too bad,” before apparently launching into a joke.
“He was just so generous in his praise, and genuinely so, and that means everything, he loves music,” Pappano said afterwards, according to The Sun.
“He knighted me, and I’ve done several events at Buckingham Palace over the years where he’s been the engine for those things, and of course I conducted at the coronation, so we’ve done quite a few events.”
Last month, Buckingham Palace announced the king would return to some public duties after a three-month break for cancer treatment.
At the time, the palace said doctors were “very encouraged” by the king’s progress. Charles has most recently said he has lost his sense of taste after being diagnosed with an undisclosed type of cancer, which the Palace disclosed on Feb. 5.
