Inside the London clinic where King Charles and Kate are being treated
The King arrived at a central London hospital today with the Queen by his side ahead of his scheduled treatment for an enlarged prostate.
Charles, 75, was seen entering the prestigious London Clinic on Friday morning, where his daughter-in-law Kate is also recovering after abdominal surgery last week.
Buckingham Palace revealed Charles took time to visit the Princess of Wales at the Marylebone hospital ahead of his treatment.
The future Queen was expected to remain in hospital for 10 to 14 days before returning home to continue her recovery.
Charle has postponed his upcoming public engagements to allow for his recovery once he leaves the hospital.
Here’s everything we know about the hospital where the royals are getting their treatment:
Everything we know about The London Clinic
The London Clinic, now one of the UK’s largest independent hospitals, was officially opened by the Duke and Duchess of York, then the future King George VI and his wife Queen Elizabeth, back in 1932.
It was the brainchild of a group of Harley Street doctors, who set out to plan a new nursing home using the highest medical standards of the day, and its website says it was “founded on the principles of providing excellence in one place”.
Around 155 different conditions are treated at the hospital, which also operates as a charity, reinvesting in research, education and innovation.
Since the 1980s, a number of facilities at the site have been officially launched by members of the royal family.
King Charles, who was then the Prince of Wales, opened the physiotherapy department in 1989, while Princess Margaret launched the MRI unit in 1991 and the late Queen unveiled a new cancer unit in 2010.
Past patients include the late Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, Princess Margaret and former US president John F Kennedy. Former prime minister and current foreign secretary, David Cameron, was born at the central London hospital, and actress Elizabeth Taylor was also treated at the clinic after falling on a film set in the 1960s.
The latest inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), carried out in June 2021, rated The London Clinic as “good” overall.
According to the health watchdog, the hospital has about 23,000 inpatients a year, with a further 110,000 outpatients.
It is registered to provide surgery as well as diagnostics and screening, treatment of disease, disorder or injury, management of supply of blood and blood-derived products.
The building at 20 Devonshire Place has seven main operating theatres and three additional theatres, as well as six speciality wards for surgeries in urology, gynaecology, thoracic surgery, orthopaedics and spinal procedures.
In a statement released on Friday, the palace said His Majesty wanted to thank all those who have sent their good wishes over the past week and is delighted to learn that his diagnosis is having a positive impact on public health awareness.
It is not known how long the King will spend in hospital or the exact nature of his treatment.
He was dressed in a smart suit and tie and navy overcoat for his arrival at the hospital, while Camilla was wearing a royal blue coat and carrying a green handbag.
Charles arrived back in London from Norfolk on Thursday afternoon ready for the procedure, after squeezing in a couple of behind the scenes official duties.