San Francisco Frontiers - Love and sympathy outside King Charles' home after cancer news

Aside from the world's press gathered on the hill overlooking the palace gates, there was little to suggest that such dramatic news had broken only a few hours earlier.

As usual, hundreds of tourists milled around the gates, cheerfully posing for photographs, some unaware of the news.

For those that did know, love and sympathy were in abundance.

"A diagnosis of cancer is not good for anyone, even for kings and queens, so I feel bad for him and wish he can recover well," Giacomo Lanza, a 22-year-old student from the Italian city of Venice, told AFP.

Buckingham Palace announced late on Monday that the cancer had been discovered while the king was recently treated in hospital for an enlarged prostate.

Jose Mauro Sontag, 68, a retiree from Sao Paolo, Brazil, read the news at his hotel on Tuesday morning.

"I love so much the king. I was very, very sad," he said.

"We feel so flat because the king really has hit the ground running," said pensioner Sue Hazell, who had travelled from Doncaster in northern England.

Charles only became monarch in September 2022, on the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II.

"He may be an elderly gentleman, but still a well gentleman, so it's a bit confusing," Hazell said.

- 'Life goes on' -

However, the king's early diagnosis gave her cause for optimism.

"Sometimes fate is a strange thing -- going in for one operation and it sounds as though this is where they caught the cancer, hopefully in the very early stages," she said.

Husband Richard, also in his sixties, pointed out that the 75-year-old monarch was in "the best possible hands", adding: "Cancer is often treatable these days."

While hopeful of a full recovery, thoughts also turned to heir apparent William, who will take up some of his father's roles while the king undergoes treatment.

"Life goes on but as far as William goes, does he do anything differently?" asked Steve Jacobs, a 58-year-old human resources manager on holiday from Seattle in the United States.

"I have full confidence in William. The guy's rock solid".

William's wife Kate has her own health issues and is currently recovering at home after undergoing abdominal surgery.

"I'm sure William's beside himself -- his grandfather, his grandmother, his father, his wife," said 44-year-old Canadian Sarah Paterson, alluding to the recent deaths of Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth II.

The entrepreneur, CEO of tech company JetSplitz, said that despite his worries, William will "1,000-percent" make a good stand in.

"I think he'll probably be king sooner than he hoped," she added.

There was less sympathy for William's estranged brother Harry, who flew into the UK on Tuesday to see his father.

"We're not so big fans of Harry. We prefer William outside (the UK)," said Lanza.

"But the family is still a family. Being a child, it is still your father that is sick," he added, calling Harry's return "a good sign".

"I'm empathetic towards Harry but you choose your own path. With that comes consequences," said Paterson.

"I think there's probably some guilt and hopefully some smoothing over," she added.

The king's transparency about his illness is a break with royal tradition, a move that was praised by those outside Buckinghm Palace.

"It's all good. Men are rubbish at saying they are ill," said Sue Hazell.

V.Mitchell--SFF