King Charles risks devastating setback amid stern warning

King Charles III is said to be heartbroken as his travel plans could be scrapped due to his ongoing cancer treatment.

The 75-year-old monarch fears to lose big if he misses out his upcoming foreign trips as the King's doctors have issued him a new warning regarding his health.

The cancer-stricken King, who has to obey the advice of his medical team, is facing 'bitter disappointment' as he looks likely to miss out on New Zealand, but will travel down under as he "doesn't want to go down as the man who lost Australia."

An insider has claimed that the rumoured cancellation of King Charles's trip to New Zealand as part of a Commonwealth tour later this year has left the King with "great regret".

Prince William and Harry's father Charles is still expected to travel halfway round the globe to visit Australia and Samoa for a Commonwealth summit in October, but additional legs of the trip to fellow South Pacific states New Zealand and Fiji had reportedly been canned due o health woes.

A source previously claimed that missing out on the added two destinations would be a big loss.

New Zealand's PM Christopher Luxon has extended an "open invitation to King Charles" for what would be his first visit there since 2019. Despite reports of the Kiwi leg of the visit's calling-off, Buckingham Palace has so far remained firm that it will go as planned.

And now, a separate source told the Mirror: "They are in denial by continuing to say that planning for the overseas trip is full steam ahead, but the orders come from the top. Charles is optimistic and desperately wants to keep going with everything.

"Missing New Zealand is a great loss, and it will be a source of great regret for him, because to be honest he probably won't be doing it again. But it's frankly incredible that he is still doing Australia and that should be celebrated."

The Australian segment of the official visit is believed to have been cut down to just six days, but the King believes visiting the country is "non-negotiable" even though his cancer battle continues. 

The source continued: "Australia is such an important part of the Commonwealth that Charles feels it is absolutely non-negotiable. There is considerable popular antipathy to the entire concept of the British monarch being head of state there, and of course he doesn't want to go down as the man who lost Australia.

They went on to claim the King "doesn't want to go down as the man who lost Australia."

"To go there when he is being treated for cancer wasn't what he planned - but you could hardly think of a better way of letting Australians know how important they are to the crown."

The King's private secretary Clive Alderton is already in the key Commonwealth Realm this month in order to shore up final arrangements for the visit - though, notably, he has not popped up in New Zealand.