- Written by Sean Coughlan
- Royal correspondent
Watch: King Charles leaves a London hospital after treatment for an enlarged prostate
King Charles left hospital after treatment for an enlarged prostate.
The king was discharged from the private London Clinic Hospital, after spending three nights there after the operation.
Earlier, Catherine, Princess of Wales, left the same Central Hospital in London, approximately two weeks after undergoing “abdominal surgery.”
The princess was transferred to her home in Windsor, without making any public appearance, and will spend months recovering.
The King left the hospital this afternoon with his wife, Queen Camilla, and waved to the cameras before getting into his car.
Image source, Getty Images
Buckingham Palace said the king will now reschedule his public engagements “to allow for a private period of recovery.”
It is not known how long the king will stop his official visits, or where he will spend his time recovering.
The medical treatment was not significant enough to require any constitutional changes to the king's role as head of state. There was no need for “state advisors”, who could intervene when the king was seriously ill.
Earlier on Monday, Kate left the London clinic, having spent 13 nights there since her surgery.
The exact nature of the surgery has not been revealed, but it is serious enough that the princess will need several months of recovery.
She has not been seen in public since Christmas Day and was hospitalized and left without being spotted.
Kensington Palace said the princess will “continue her recovery” from her home, which is expected to be Adelaide Cottage in Windsor.
The King also visited Catherine, 42, in hospital before having a prostate operation on Friday.
The king was in hospital after being treated for a benign, non-cancerous prostate problem, which is a common condition in older men, according to the National Health Service.
About one in three men over the age of 50 experience some symptoms of an enlarged prostate, a gland located just below the bladder.
King Charles, 75, is planning to have a prostate “corrective procedure” announced as a way to encourage other men to have prostate checks.
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