Prince Harry has met with his father in London less than 24 hours after the world learned King Charles, had been diagnosed with cancer.
The King was seen publicly yesterday afternoon (overnight AEDT), for the first time since his diagnosis was revealed.
Just a few hours earlier, the Duke of Sussex touched down on a flight from Los Angeles, reportedly without wife Meghan and their kids.
Harry was photographed in a car heading into Clarence House, near Buckingham Palace, for what's believed to have been his first reunion with his father since the coronation in May.
Charles and his wife, Queen Camilla, were later seen leaving the residence and heading back to Buckingham Palace.
The King's helicopter left Buckingham Palace shortly after and headed for the royals' Sandringham Estate about 150 kilometres north of London.
Television cameras captured the aircraft landing at the estate, before the royal standard was raised to indicate the monarch was in residence.
BBC royal correspondent Sarah Campbell said the garden-ringed private country retreat was an "obvious option" given its relative proximity to his treatment in London without being in the middle of the city.
"I think it's fair to say that if he wants to be somewhere away from central London, you can understand that he's very much a countryside, a lover of the countryside," she said.
"So if you want to be able to go out and about you can't really do that in central London."
A spokesperson for the Sussexes said earlier that Harry had spoken to his father about the diagnosis.
Harry and Meghan quit royal duties in 2020 and relations with the rest of the royal family have only appeared to sour further since then on the back of a revealing Oprah Winfrey interview and Harry's memoir, Spare.
News of the King's diagnosis came as his daughter-in-law Catherine, Princess of Wales, recovered from abdominal surgery that saw her hospitalised for about two weeks.
Kate is taking a break from royal duties as she recovers. Her husband, Prince William, who is heir to the throne, also took time off to help look after her and the couple's three children, but is due to preside over a ceremony at Windsor Castle and a charity dinner on Wednesday.
Charles departed from royal tradition with his openness about his prostate condition. For centuries Britain's royal family remained tight-lipped about health matters.
The British public wasn't told that Charles' grandfather, King George VI, had lung cancer before his death in February 1952 at the age of 56, and some historians have claimed that the king himself wasn't told he was terminally ill.
In the final years of Elizabeth's life, the public was told only that the queen was suffering from "mobility issues" when she began to miss public appearances towards the end of her life. The cause of her death was listed on the death certificate simply as "old age".
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Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the King's cancer had been "caught early" and the whole country was hoping for a speedy recovery.
"Many families around the country listening to this will have been touched by the same thing and they know what it means to everyone," he told BBC radio.
"So we'll just be willing him on and hopefully we get through this as quickly as possible."
The palace said Charles, who has generally enjoyed good health, "remains wholly positive about his treatment and looks forward to returning to full public duty as soon as possible".
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Buckingham palace said that the King "has chosen to share his diagnosis to prevent speculation and in the hope it may assist public understanding for all those around the world who are affected by cancer".
William and Charles' wife, Queen Camilla, are both expected to take on extra public engagements during the king's treatment.
There are no current plans to call on the "counsellors of state" — senior royals, including the queen and the heir to the throne — to deputise for the monarch on constitutional duties such as signing legislation and receiving ambassadors.
- Reported with Associated Press
