King Charles appears to have made a reference to his health as he visited New York City as part of his state visit to the US.
One one of his stops on his state visit he made an appearance at a Greater Together event which was attended by a number of famous faces, and was introduced to the stage by Lionel Richie.
Charles got a laugh from the crowd when he opened his speech with ‘I hesitate to make another speech because I may have had enough’, but he went on to talk about his charity the King’s Trust and the importance of helping the next generation.
During those remarks he said he ‘won’t see the long-distance future’ as he thanked those gathered for supporting his efforts.
He said: “As we look to the future, I won’t see the long-distance future, but I’m enormously grateful to you for what you can all do as supporters to help in this vital endeavour to champion the next generation ensuring that their talent and ambition continue to strengthen our society for many years to come.”
King Charles said he ‘won’t see the long-distance future’ (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
King Charles had been diagnosed with cancer back in 2024, with Buckingham Palace announcing in a statement that it had been detected during a hospital procedure for a benign prostate enlargement where doctors noticed another issue.
He went thorough a series of ‘regular treatments’ before taking a break from public duties, and in a message sent in December 2025 he said that being diagnosed early ‘quite simply saves lives’.
During the same message he said his own cancer treatment had been going positively, saying: “Indeed, today I am able to share with you the good news that thanks to early diagnosis, effective intervention and adherence to doctors’ orders, my own schedule of cancer treatment can be reduced in the New Year.
“This milestone is both a personal blessing and a testimony to the remarkable advances that have been made in cancer care in recent years; testimony that I hope may give encouragement to the 50 percent of us who will be diagnosed with the illness at some point in our lives.”
Also speaking at the event, Lionel Richie said King Charles’ recent speech to Congress had been a wise friend ‘giving advice as to what we should be doing’.
Diagnosed with cancer in 2024, King Charles said in late 2025 that his treatment was going well (Samir Hussein/WireImage)
During that speech he praised the ‘truly unique’ alliance between the UK and US and condemned the armed suspect who was charged with trying to assassinate US President Donald Trump recently, saying ‘such acts of violence will never succeed.
He also talked about how ‘unyielding resolve is needed for the defence of Ukraine and her most courageous people’, and the need for democratic institutions to maintain ‘checks and balances’ on executive power.
Speaking later at a state dinner, he also joked about Trump’s White House ballroom project and how the British burned down the White House in 1814 during the War of 1812, and quipped ‘dare I say that if it wasn’t for us, you’d be speaking French…’
Urging that countries ‘ignore the clarion calls to become ever more inward-looking’, many thought that the speeches King Charles has made while in the US have had some pointed messages for Trump.
The US president, meanwhile, has claimed King Charles ‘would have probably helped’ with Trump’s war in Iran.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact Macmillan’s Cancer Support Line on 0808 808 00 00, 8am–8pm seven days a week.
