The King is set to reassure the public with an Easter message of hope and unity.
Charles, 75, wants to provide comfort to the country after the shock announcements that both he and the Princess of Wales are undergoing cancer treatment, palace sources have said.
A special pre-recorded Easter message from the King will be broadcast during a service at Worcester Cathedral on Maundy Thursday.
It will come before he plans to step out in public next Sunday to lead a reduced royal contingent at the traditional Easter Matins service.
The King is hoping to appear alongside the Queen at the service as he is said to be “very positive” and his doctors “optimistic” about his treatment. Aides plan for him to build back to resume a fuller schedule of engagements “towards the summer”, a palace source told the Daily Telegraph.
He has stepped back from public duties on medical advice as he undergoes cancer treatment, to avoid the risks associated with large crowds.
The royal turnout on Easter Sunday is therefore set to be considerably smaller than usual, it is understood.
Kensington Palace has confirmed that the Prince and Princess of Wales and their three children will not attend, as they focus on Kate’s recovery.
The Queen will carry out three engagements this week as she continues to deputise for the King, including representing him at the annual Royal Maundy service.
In doing so she will become the first consort to hand out Maundy gifts. It will be the most significant royal event he has been absent from since he started treatment. The Queen will present coins to 75 men and 75 women in recognition of their community service — the number of recipients is equivalent to the monarch’s age.
The King is “hugely frustrated” that his recovery is taking a “little longer” than expected, his nephew Peter Phillips revealed on Sunday.
During an interview on Australian television, he said: “He’s frustrated that he can’t get on and do everything that he wants to be able to do.
But he is very pragmatic, he understands that there’s a period of time that he really needs to focus on himself. At the same time he is always pushing his staff and everybody — his doctors and nurses — to be able to say ‘actually can I do this, can I do that?’”
