Palace ‘Trying to Downplay’ the Severity of King Charles III’s Cancer Battle Amid Funeral Plans

Facing the possibility of only weeks left to live, King Charles has dropped a deathbed bombshell — decreeing that he wants to bring his runaway son Prince Harry and his family back into the fold for a final farewell, and that his beloved Queen Camilla will not be cast aside once he’s gone, sources say.

The royal ultimatum is one that vengeful heir Prince William can’t refuse and comes with an ironclad order to give the soon-to-be widowed Camilla the run of the palace and its privileges to ensure that his 78-year-old second wife is treated with respect, insiders tell the National Enquirer.

The 76-year-old monarch is reportedly battling the ravages of pancreatic cancer and knows his time on earth is limited after being told in summer 2024 that he only has 18 months to live. The Enquirer has seen a palace memo detailing how the king will receive treatment for an enlarged prostate. Now, palace insiders say they are praying he can simply hang on through the holidays.

“The palace is desperately trying to downplay the seriousness of His Majesty’s illness,” confides a high-level courtier. “But Charles knows it’s the end and so do his sons. William is formally making plans for his version of the future of the monarchy — with or without Charles’ blessing — and making his own decisions as king.”

This is why sources say the monarch was eager to meet with his rebellious son Harry in September with hopes of luring him back home, along with wife Meghan, so that he could spend time with his grandchildren Prince Archie, 6, and Princess Lilibet, 4, before it’s too late.

What’s more, the king’s top-secret funeral plans — dubbed Operation Menai Bridge and later upgraded to the more grandiose Operation London Bridge — was recently leaked to the media in the same fashion as his mom Queen Elizabeth’s last rites in 2022, per Daily Beast.

Charles, who waited 70 years to ascend to the throne, believes he deserves an even grander send-off than his royal mother, which includes being honored in Westminster Abbey with all pomp and circumstance despite his short reign. The guest list will include hundreds of foreign royals and dignitaries, as well as political and religious leaders, courtiers and friends, according to the leaked funeral plans.

“There will be no expenses spared,” another insider tells the Enquirer. “He hasn’t been king for long, but he’s been a loyal servant for over 70 years.”

However, sources say that Charles’ troublemaking brother, Prince Andrew, is throwing a monkey wrench into his carefully crafted plans.

Andrew, 65, recently agreed to stop using the title Duke of York after damning emails revealed that he maintained his close friendship with late pedophile billionaire Jeffrey Epstein long after publicly claiming he had cut ties with the sex trafficker, according to The Independent.

What’s more, details about Andrew’s alleged sleazy behavior were laid bare in accuser Virginia Giuffre’s posthumous bio, Nobody’s Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice — including details of a brutal orgy with Epstein and eight other young girls.

“I vigorously deny the accusations against me,” Andrew said in his Oct. 17 statement, despite allegedly paying Giuffre an estimated $16 million in 2022 to settle a civil suit accusing him of abusing her when she was 17.

It remains unclear if William will allow Andrew or his equally disgraced wife, Sarah Ferguson, to have any official role in Charles’ funeral, but royal expert Hilary A. Fordwich believes the outcast prince will be at the back of the line.

“The only modus operandi of the monarchy is to distance themselves — and to exile him,” she tells the Enquirer.

“Historically, he’s always been protected by the British government, but Prince William is not going to be protecting him to the same degree — definitely not.”