Afternoon teas and dinners with friends are just some of the activities King Charles has been involved in since stepping back from public duties.
Last month, Buckingham Palace announced that the 75-year-old monarch had been diagnosed with an unspecified type of cancer, which had been detected after doctors treated an enlarged prostate.
He has stepped back from public engagements, and other members of the royal family, including his might and main Queen Camilla, have stepped forward.
But since the move, which made him miss the funeral of his second cousin, King Constantine of Greece, at Windsor Castle, the king has been filling his time having afternoon tea with supportive friends and gardening.
On Monday, King Charles invited two close friends, a married couple, to dinner at Windsor Castle before leaving for medical appointments the next morning, the Times reported.
He made plans with friends he can trust to comfort him while Camilla holds down the fort and also takes some well-deserved time.
Since his diagnosis, Charles, 75, has allowed other working members of the Firm, such as his wife, Queen Camilla, to take the lead with their royal duties while he continues his treatment.
A palace source said the royals’ diary is packed with sumptuous, indulgent afternoon teas and dinners with friends.
The source told the outlet: “Despite the diagnosis and treatments, he continues to do everything he can, but obviously has to do it on a schedule where everything is slightly adapted.”
“What’s surprising during this pause is how little has changed rather than how much has changed.”
Charles has been traveling between his Norfolk retreat, Sandringham, and London for cancer treatment, a journey of around 100 miles.
When at the royal residence, often visited by extended family at Christmas, the King often drives around his property and watches the progress of a health-inspired botanical garden located at the front of the grand house.
King Charles is an environmentalist who loves nature and has spoken out about climate change from a young age.
At just 21 years old, the then Prince of Wales warned the public about plastic waste and chemicals dumped into rivers and seas and the problems they cause.
While the royal dined with friends, he recently lost a dear friend who lived at his Highgrove estate, Ian Farquhar.
The renowned hunter was also an equerry to the Queen Mother and even served in the Queen’s Own Hussars, a cavalry regiment of the British Army.
Farquhar was also close to Queen Camilla and lived on the king’s estate for many years in a rented farm. He is said to have died there on Wednesday morning.
Brigadier Andrew Parker Bowles, Camilla’s first husband and friend, told the Mail’s Richard Eden that the situation was “very sad” and that she had been in poor health for the past few months.
He described his friend as “wild as a hawk in his youth, but always very funny.” Parker Bowles added that ‘The Captain’, as Farquhar was known, will be ‘judged by history as one of the great Dog Masters’.
One source said he used to cross fields to meet the monarch for dinner, but would abandon his car “when it became hopelessly stuck” and instead wait for tractors to rescue him.
The King often drives around Sandringham and watches the progress of a health-inspired botanical garden located at the front of the great house. Above: The Prince of Wales will plant a tree in 2021
King Charles met with the Jamaican High Commissioner, Alexander Williams, accompanied by his wife Carol Watson-Williams, at Buckingham Palace on Thursday.
The King has postponed all public engagements as he continues treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer, but has been conducting audiences and administrative duties behind Palace walls.
London-based high commissioners and ambassadors have a regular audience with the monarch shortly after assuming their duties.
Charles’ meeting came after he had a video call with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
The King previously met with the ambassador of Algeria, Nourredine Yazid, and with Samba Mamadou, ambassador of Mauritania.
The King was diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer following unrelated hospital treatment for an enlarged prostate earlier this year.
He was treated at the same hospital as the Princess of Wales, who underwent abdominal surgery for an unknown condition in January.