Amid his ongoing battle with, King Charles III made an appearance at Windsor on Easter Sunday, marking the holiday with fellow senior royals. The monarch looked pleased to be in attendance at church on Sunday, March 31, and was accompanied most closely by Queen Camilla. 

Charles’ return to the public eye comes amid his ongoing treatment. While he has been taking audiences within the palace and keeping up to date with Britain’ prime minister, Rishi Sunak, the monarch’s stepping out on Easter was a welcomed sighting, as it was his biggest public appearance since being diagnosed with cancer in February.

The king waved to fans who gathered outside St. George’s Chapel. He appeared to be in good spirits as he greeted the church clergy before heading inside for the service.

Royal watchers were treated to the sighting of the king, but not everything is well behind closed doors. Palace sources exclusively told In Touch earlier in the month that Charles is battling pancreatic cancer and has been given roughly two years to live, a stark update to the monarch’s health journey. The revelation came as the palace has remained tight-lipped on the type of cancer Charles was diagnosed with after undergoing prostate surgery in January.

“Many courtiers believe Charles’ cancer is worse than they’re making it out to be,” a source told In Touch, adding, “Even before the diagnosis, there were concerns about his health.”

Meanwhile, a second insider painted the full picture on the king’s condition.

“King Charles is much sicker than the palace lets on and simply isn’t up to the job of running his fractious family, the crown’s business interests and fulfilling the daily duties of the monarchy,” a member of the royal inner circle revealed. “His cancer is eating him alive. He’s very frail. The situation is desperate.”

Adding yet another complex layer to Charles’ health is that of Princess Kate Middleton’s, who is also battling cancer and was not in attendance at the Windsor Easter event. Amid rampant theories about her health, Kate stayed strictly behind closed doors, prompting many royal fans and social media users to speculate about her whereabouts.

Rumors – ranging from a Brazilian Butt Lift to bangs gone wrong to a medically induced coma – started circulating about the Princess of Wales. The flurry was so intoxicating that the palace released an uncharacteristic statement about her well-being. 

“Kensington Palace made it clear in January the timelines of the Princess’ recovery and we’d only be providing significant updates. That guidance stands,” palace officials told ABC News on February 29, reiterating that Kate would be out of the public eye until after Easter.

Speculation did not die down, however, and Kate’s whereabouts, the status of her marriage and her general health were questioned even further when her U.K. Mother’s Day tribute post was uploaded to Instagram. Though the sweet snap, taken by William, showed a smiling Kate and her three children, a kill notice was issued about the image, advising news organizations to take it down as it appeared that the “source [had] manipulated the image.” 

In yet another uncharacteristic move, Kate addressed the speculation about her health status – and the edited image – in a statement on X. “Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing,” the princess wrote on March 11. “I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused.”

It wasn’t for another week that concerned members of the public got a Kate update. The princess stepped out at a farm shop near her home in Windsor on March 16, and was captured on video holding a shopping bag. She was dressed down in a pair of leggings and a black hoodie, looking calm and relaxed as she ventured out. Just days later, she would reveal in a video statement that she too had been diagnosed with cancer, though she did not reveal what kind or what stage of the disease she is facing.