King Charles has emotionally said he ‘hopes he survives long enough to return’ to Samoa after a heartwarming ceremony.
The monarch, 75, and Camilla, 77, bid a fond farewell to the country in a colourful traditional Ava ceremony in the village of Siumu.
Charles was conferred with yet another honorary title – To’aiga-o-Tumua – as he and the Queen were offered garlands as they arrived in torrential rain.
In an impromptu speech in which the King appeared to make a pointed reference to his ongoing cancer fight, he said: ‘I shall always remain devoted to this part of the world and hope that I survive long enough to come back again and see you.
‘We shall take away with us, I promise you, very special memories of our time here. We thank you for our wonderful gifts ‘
Charles, who is still undergoing cancer treatment, is said to have felt ‘lifted’ by his trip to Australia and Samoa, where he carried out up to ten engagements a day.
The king will next year return to a ‘full programme’ of overseas tours following a new vote of confidence in his health from his doctors.
And sources close to Charles, who paused treatment to undertake the 30,000-mile, 11-day round-trip, have explained it was all part of his ‘mind, body and soul’ approach to his cancer battle.
King Charles has emotionally said he ‘hopes he survives long enough to return’ to Samoa after a heartwarming ceremony
The monarch, 75, and Camilla, 77, bid a fond farewell to the country following a colourful traditional Ava ceremony in the village of Siumu
Charles was conferred with yet another honorary title – To’aiga-o-Tumua – as he and the Queen were offered garlands as they arrived in torrential rain
King Charles III and Queen Camilla smile during a visit to a beach in Apia, Samoa
King Charles III and Queen Camilla during a farewell ceremony at Siumu Village on the final day of the royal visit to Australia and Samoa
This attitude is one reason, they say, he has insisted on continuing his work since being diagnosed with an undisclosed form of the disease in February, despite the gruelling physical toll of his illness.
Aides say Charles has allowed his doctors to concentrate on healing his body, while he has focused on his mental strength in dealing with such a ‘striking’ and unexpected blow, determined to keep his mind ‘in the right state’.
They also revealed:
- Charles had red boxes of official papers flown Down Under to work on once he has concluded his busy days of engagements
- At Queen Camilla’s urging, he has been taking some down time by reading a ‘great’ new book;
- The King feels closer to his wife than ever. The couple are a ‘remarkable unit’, courtiers say, and she has kept it ‘real’ for him;
- While his cancer diagnosis came as a huge shock, Charles decided almost immediately to try to turn it into a force for good, sharing his story with millions of other sufferers and taking ‘comfort’ from their support;
- His Australia and Samoa tour was seen by Buckingham Palace as a huge test of his reign – and surpassed all expectations, possibly putting the republican cause Down Under back by a generation;
- The protest by an indigenous Australian in parliament left him unbothered. ‘He’s seen it all.’
The positive health news comes as Charles and Camilla concluded their trip by hosting a ‘King’s Dinner’ for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Samoa, followed by a visit to a village to thank locals for their hospitality.
Buckingham Palace also issued new photos of the royal couple enjoying a beach walk, looking joyful and relaxed.
When the possibility of undertaking a tour within just eight months of being diagnosed with cancer was first raised earlier this year, staff were not sure how the King would react.
Typically, however, they said the answer wasn’t ‘how dare you?’ but ‘why can’t I do New Zealand as well?’ A source said: ‘He didn’t even hesitate. We had to hold him back.’
A palace official said yesterday: ‘It’s great testament to the King’s devotion to service and duty that he was prepared to come this far and he was incredibly happy and very, very determined to do so.’
As for the volume of engagements he took on each day, despite his evenings being kept free to recuperate, they made clear he had been bouyed by the challenge.
‘It is a great measure of the way the King is dealing with the diagnosis,’ they said. ‘He’s a great believer in mind, body and soul.
‘It is hard to overstate the joy he takes from duty and service and being in public and seeing those crowds. That really lifts the spirits. You can see that.’
The couple, holding umbrellas, made their way up a sodden red carpet to a stage which had been covered in woven mats and garlanded with flowers
King Charles holds a bowl during a ceremony at Siumu Village, Samoa on October 26
Charles and Camilla during a farewell ceremony at Siumu Village on the final day of the royal visit to Australia and Samoa
Charles and Camilla were offered seats on large golden thrones where they sat and listened to several extravagantly dressed village elders welcome them with honour
They also watched intensively as villagers, soaked to the bone, but determined to continue with festivities undertook an ‘ava ceremony’ – the making of a special drink with the roots of the ava plant – which was handed to the king to drink in a highly polished coconut shell
Charles was so buoyed by the past week – as were his doctors – that he is looking at a return to normality next year.
‘We’re now working on a pretty normal-looking full overseas tour programme for next year,’ a senior royal official said, suggesting that the traditional spring and autumn tours will be back on the cards.
Canada is likely to be high on their list. Of course, every decision made will be subject to discussion with the government, his ongoing treatment – the duration of which has not been revealed – and, ultimately, a sign-off by his doctors.
But sources say the future is ‘bright’, which could not always be said to have been the case after the King was diagnosed earlier this year.
After the initial shock of such a ‘striking’ diagnosis, he realised ‘in a heartbeat’ how much he had in common with so many millions of people in the UK and across the Commonwealth.
It’s been a huge source of strength, they say, for him to talk to others about their shared experiences.
And he hopes others have taken comfort from the fact that even ‘a king can get cancer’.
Aides have told this newspaper about the deep concerns privately expressed about how the King’s visit to Australia, the first to any of his realms as monarch, would be greeted.
‘There was a lot to play for, it was massively important to us,’ they added. ‘A new King, a new reign and a new world.’
Having Camilla, 77, with him, helped immeasurably. A senior royal aide described the couple as a ‘remarkable unit’, adding: ‘The King gets great strength from the Queen being there, not least because she keeps it real.’
