Princess Anne's son gives rare insight into King Charles's recovery

Peter Phillips, 46, said the King is "hugely frustrated" he cannot do everything that he wants to do.

Phillips, the only son of Princess Anne and her first husband Captain Mark Phillips, added that his uncle is "pragmatic" and knows he needs to "focus on himself" to get better.

The father-of-two is currently visiting Australia as a patron of the charity ISPS Handa.

During his visit, Phillips said King Charles is "pushing" his staff to let him resume more royal duties, contrary to the advice of his medical team.

He added: "He is in good spirits but ultimately he is hugely frustrated.

"He's frustrated he can't get on and do everything he wants to be able to do.

"But he is very pragmatic, he understands there's a period of time he really needs to focus on himself.

"But at the same time he is always pushing his staff and everybody - his doctors and nurses - to say 'Can I do this, can I do that'.

"I think the overriding message is he is obviously very keen to get back to a form of normality and he's probably frustrated that his recovery is taking a little longer than he would want it to."

He continued to tell Sky News Australia that the Princess of Wales is "remarkable" amid the news of her health battle and said she and William have "got it right" in balancing their public life and family life.

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Queen Camilla has previously told well-wishers that King Charles "is doing very well".

It emerged yesterday that King Charles was left "feeling very emotional" after having a private lunch with the Princess of Wales the day before she shared her cancer diagnosis to the world.

The monarch travelled from London to Windsor Castle on Thursday for a heart-to-heart with his daughter-in-law.