Queen Camilla has spoken for the first time about the emotional experience of visiting a Maggie’s cancer support centre shortly after King Charles was diagnosed with cancer, but before his diagnosis had been made public.
The Queen, who has been President of Maggie’s since 2008, recalled the visit during a newly released film marking the charity’s 30th anniversary.
Speaking to Maggie’s Chief Executive Dame Laura Lee DBE, she described visiting the organisation’s new centre at the Royal Free Hospital in London in January 2024, just days before Buckingham Palace publicly announced the King’s diagnosis.
“I remember coming to see a Maggie’s just after The King being diagnosed. Nobody could say anything at the time. That was quite difficult,” The Queen said.
She explained that being surrounded by people living with cancer and their families made the situation particularly poignant.
“I almost said something but, you know, I felt that it wasn’t the time to say,” she recalled. “I looked at everybody who was suffering and all the relations and I think it made me realise even more how important these places were.”
The Queen added: “I was just longing to let it out but obviously I couldn’t.”
The King’s diagnosis was announced by Buckingham Palace on 5 February 2024, after doctors identified a form of cancer during investigations following his treatment for an enlarged prostate. The King chose to make the diagnosis public, saying he hoped doing so could help promote greater understanding among those affected by cancer.
Watch a clip from the film
A message about support beyond the patient
The film places the Queen’s recollections within Maggie’s wider work supporting people affected by cancer, including their relatives and friends.
Dame Laura Lee said hearing the Queen describe her experience highlighted the importance of ensuring that family members and loved ones also have access to support.
Maggie’s currently operates 27 centres across the UK, providing free psychological, emotional and practical support to people living with cancer and those close to them. The charity recorded almost 339,000 visits in 2025 and has ambitions to establish 60 centres across the UK.
The charity’s Royal Free centre, which the Queen officially opened in January 2024, was its 24th UK centre at the time. It provides free support to people with cancer, as well as their families and friends.
Film credit: @theroyalfamily / Buckingham Palace
The Queen’s connection to Maggie’s
The Queen has visited 18 of Maggie’s 27 centres during her time as President, making her one of the charity’s most prominent advocates.
That relationship also has a recent connection to the region. In January 2026, The Queen visited Maggie’s Cheltenham to mark the charity’s 30th anniversary and the opening of an extension to the centre.
During that visit, she praised Maggie’s approach to cancer support and reflected on the importance of creating welcoming spaces where people can receive expert help away from the clinical environment.
The new film features footage from that Cheltenham visit alongside the Queen’s conversation with Dame Laura Lee and contributions from people living with cancer who have been supported by Maggie’s.
Marking 30 years of Maggie’s
Maggie’s was founded in 1996, when its first centre opened in the grounds of Edinburgh’s Western General Hospital.
Three decades later, the charity provides cancer support from centres located alongside major NHS cancer hospitals across the UK, with a long-term ambition to reach every major NHS cancer centre.
For The Queen, the anniversary film provides an opportunity not only to reflect on her own experience during an extraordinarily difficult period for the Royal Family, but also to underline the wider importance of emotional and practical support for anyone affected by cancer.
The full film was released by Buckingham Palace and Maggie’s on 19 August 2026 as part of the charity’s 30th anniversary campaign.
