King Charles seeks spiritual advice from Greek Orthodox monk
King Charles has been seeking spiritual advice from a Greek Orthodox monk who he has been friends with for 25 years amid his cancer battle.
King Charles has been seeking spiritual advice from a Greek Orthodox monk amid his cancer battle.
The 75-year-old monarch was diagnosed with an undisclosed form of the disease earlier this month and Archimandrite Ephraim - who struck up a friendship with the royal following the death of his ex-wife, Princess Diana, in 1997 - revealed they have been in contact in recent weeks.
He told The Sun newspaper: “Charles has a spiritual sophistication, a spiritual life.
“Yes, he has been in contact since the diagnosis and I believe he’ll overcome it.
“We have a very good rapport.”
The king has visited Mount Athos several times, making eight separate visits to the Abbot's 10th century monastery, Vatopedi, where he reportedly has his own quarters.
A source said: “There are no distractions so he can meditate, pray and follow ancient rituals like getting up at 4am to follow the liturgy which he absolutely adores.”
The king recently admitted he had been reduced to tears by the messages of support he's received from the British public.
His first engagements in more than two months last Wednesday (21.02.24) saw him join a meeting of the Privy Council at Buckingham Palace, which was followed by an audience with the British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
The politician shook the king’s hand firmly in their first private audience since December, with Charles joking the break was a “bit of a gap”.
Mr. Sunak told him it was “wonderful to see you looking so well”, while a relaxed and seemingly jovial Charles said: “Well, it’s all done by mirrors.”
The PM told him Britain was “behind you”, and Charles revealed: “I’ve had so many wonderful messages and cards. Reduced me to tears most of the time.”
Mr Sunak added: “I can imagine. As I said, everyone is behind you, and it’s been nice to see the spotlight that it’s shone on the work the charities do in this area.”
Charles said: “I hear there been a lot more interest on those main wonderful cancer charities many of which I’ve been patron for years.”
The PM confirmed: “They’ve done incredible work up and down the country, nice to be recognised.”
The pair then sat down for their private audience, and palace sources said the engagements were a sign of “State business, as usual” for the king.
Charles’ cancer diagnosis came after he underwent a procedure for an enlarged prostate, though his cancer is not related to the condition.
