King Charles 'had cancer scare years before his diagnosis' nobody knew about

King Charles received a diagnosis that he had cancer earlier this year and has since been undergoing treatment - and an acclaimed royal author has claimed that the monarch had a very certain way of dealing with his health news

King Charles had a very clear reaction to his cancer diagnosis - and even had a scare about the disease years before taking the throne, a new book has claimed.

It was revealed in February that the King had been diagnosed with cancer following a short stay in hospital at the beginning of the year. He went to hospital for a procedure for an enlarged prostate but the type of cancer he was diagnosed with has not been revealed - although it was confirmed it was not prostate cancer.

His diagnosis came just months after his historic Coronation at Westminster Abbey and less than two years into his reign. And according to a new update of a book by acclaimed royal author Robert Hardman, the King had a stoic reaction to his health news.

In his updated book, Charles III: New King. New Court. The Inside Story, which is being serialised in the Daily Mail, Mr Hardman writes: "Says a senior aide: 'Cancer is a very scary word if you're a king or anyone else. It's a big shock. But he is a great one for taking things on the chin and then saying, Right. How are we going to get on with this?' He was very clear that he would carry on doing all of the constitutional stuff in exactly the way that he did before."

In addition, Mr Hardman writes that a former staff member who worked for Charles when he was Prince of Wales claims that the King had a cancer scare some years before - and due to his involvement with several cancer charities had a "deeper understanding of the disease than most".

The updated book also explores the decision to make Charles' cancer diagnosis public and claims it was an "easy decision" with a member of the King's staff saying: "Well, that's what we do these days".

They added: "When you know the King has got cancer, every cancer sufferer could feel connected to him. If we said exactly what it is, others with a different diagnosis might feel less connected. And if part of the point here is for him to be sharing his story, then it is better to be, if not all things to all people, then as many things to as many people as you can be." Buckingham Palace declined to comment.

The King has now undergone several months of treatment and last week, it was revealed that royal doctors have green-lit the King's return to a full programme of events next year, including two major overseas tours.

Charles is fully behind plans for high-profile tours in the spring and autumn, with Canada one possible destination. At times, the King, 75, looked weary during his nine-day visit to Australia and Samoa with the Queen earlier this month. He reduced his usual duties over the summer to rest ahead of his trip Down Under. A Palace official said: "We're now working on a pretty normal-looking, full overseas tour programme for next year, which is a high for us to end on, to know that we can be thinking in those terms."

Australians came out in their hundreds to greet the royals throughout the tour, culminating in a crowd of 10,000 outside the Sydney Opera House on their last day in the country. The palace official said: "It is hard to overstate the joy that the King takes from duty and service, being in public and seeing those crowds.

"The idea of these tours always is to leave a trace behind, and that was why the King was very keen that those legacy projects should be launched while we were here. He has genuinely loved this tour. It has lifted his spirits, his mood and his recovery. In that sense, the tour –despite its demands – has been the perfect tonic."