King Charles to release video message for Commonwealth Day as he is expected to miss it amid cancer battle

King Charles to release video message for Commonwealth Day as he is expected to miss it amid cancer battle

Watch: King Charles receive cards from well-wishers

GB News
Hannah Ross

By Hannah Ross


Published: 01/03/2024

- 22:50

Updated: 01/03/2024

- 22:52

His Majesty is set to miss the Commonwealth Day annual service in March

King Charles is expected to release a video message to mark a celebratory occasion he is set to miss amid his cancer treatment.

The monarch will send a message around the world to mark Commonwealth Day which is celebrated on March 11.


Queen Camilla will lead the Royal Family at the Westminster Abbey service in the absence of her husband.

King Charles took over the role as head of the Commonwealth from his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II.

King Charles

King Charles set to release video message for Commonwealth Day

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The ceremony is one of the most important events in the royal calendar and attended by senior members of the Royal Family including the Prince of Wales.

Royal sources told The Daily Mirror that the King was "keen to express his thanks to people around the Commonwealth who have sent him thousands of get well soon messages" since his cancer diagnosis.

The theme for this year’s event is “One Resilient Common Future.”

Commonwealth Day is celebrated by people across Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and Americas, the Pacific and Europe.

King Charles

King Charles performs a hongi as he attends the 2023 Commonwealth Day Service

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There will be a series of events to commemorate the day including debates, school assemblies, flag-raising ceremonies and cultural events.

The Commonwealth Secretary-General, the RT Hon Patricia Scotland KC said last month that the member states are bound together by “shared values.”

She said: “We have countries which are amongst both the smallest and largest in the world.

“What binds us together is our shared values, and those include a commitment to ensuring stronger and stable governance, a more sustainable environment, robust economies, and societies that empower Commonwealth citizens.”

King Charles

King Charles is the head of the Commonwealth

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King Charles

The King is set to miss the occasion due to his cancer diagnosis

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During his Commonwealth speech last year, the King called for the nations to “strive together” and achieve a “global common good.”

It comes as one commonwealth nation is set to drop the King from their $5 banknotes.

King Charles will not replace Queen Elizabeth’s image on Australia’s new $5 note designs.

Queen Elizabeth has been portrayed on Australia’s pink-coloured $5 notes since 1992.

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