Queen Camilla says King's work 'keeps him going'

Queen Camilla says that King Charles "loves his work and it keeps him going" and that as his health is "getting better… now he wants to do more and more".

The King has been receiving cancer treatment for over a year, but this week he successfully completed an intensive schedule of public events on a four-day state visit to Italy.

The Queen's comments were made to the UK press on the trip that also coincided with the royal couple's 20th wedding anniversary.

She said "dream on" to suggestions that the King might take it easier with his workload.

"I think he loves his work and it keeps him going. And I think it's wonderful, you know, if you've been ill and you are recovering, you're getting better and now he wants to do more and more and more. That's the problem," said the Queen.

"That's what he's driven by - helping others," she said, while on the tour of Italy.

Royal sources have echoed that the King's treatment has been going well, reflected in how his doctors have let him continue with his work and travels, with more overseas trips expected this year.

"He knows he is fortunate to be in a position to make a difference, and is determined to do just that," said a senior Palace official about the 76-year-old King's determination to keep working.

In terms of getting him to slow down, the official added: "We've all tried! But as people will have seen the King enjoys his work, he enjoys engaging with as many people as possible."

A recent adverse side effect to the cancer treatment saw the King have a brief hospital stay, but that was described as a minor setback in a bigger picture of positive progress.

On his Italian visit he managed a busy schedule of ceremonies and events.

It included a private meeting with Pope Francis in the Vatican, where the pontiff, who has been seriously ill, gave them his best wishes for their 20th wedding anniversary.

This was said to have been one of the highlights of the trip for the royal couple, with a senior Palace official saying they "both came away feeling that it had been a very significant and special moment".

"Who could believe it was 20 years," the Queen said of their marriage.

"What is the secret? I don't know, well, I suppose it's just the sort of friendship really, laughing at the same things, getting on with life," she said.

She said that much of their time was taken up with official duties.

"We are always going in different directions, like ships that pass in the night really. We whizz past each other."

The King and Queen had been given a warm welcome by Italy's public and politicians - and Buckingham Palace officials seemed delighted with how the state visit had gone.

"It really showed soft power at its best," said a senior Palace official.

There were enthusiastic crowds in Ravenna to see the royal couple on the final engagement of the trip, where they attended a festival celebrating local food.

The King received a standing ovation after a speech in Italy's Parliament, where he called for Italy and the UK to stand together to defend democratic values.

He praised how the UK and Italy "stood by Ukraine in her hour of need".

One of the personal highlights for the King was seeing the stunning Byzantine mosaics in the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna, a church dating to the 6th Century.

The King had been "genuinely deeply moved by what he had seen", said a senior official.

They added: "I think the King and Queen also loved the final engagement in Ravenna - including, you may be surprised to hear, the huge crush of the crowds."

Such state visits are carried out on behalf of the government and the backdrop to this trip to Italy had been a wave of international economic and diplomatic turmoil.

The UK government has been keen for a post-Brexit "reset" with its European partners and the visit saw multiple references to the military links between the UK and Italy.

"We are living in a very precarious and fragile world," the King had told the state banquet.