King Charles News: Charles III quotes Winston Churchill by telling cancer patients to ‘keep buggering on’

By Hannah Furness

The King has shared advice with fellow cancer patients by telling them: “What’s that Winston Churchill saying? Keep buggering on.”

The monarch asked people who are living with cancer whether they were managing to “survive the side effects alright” while on a royal visit to Northern Ireland.

Visiting the Pharmacy and Pharmacology Department at Ulster University on Thursday, the King said sympathetically: “You just have to push on, don’t you.”

READ MORE: Meghan ‘underestimated in terms of her influence’

The exchange took place on the second day of the royal visit, as the King saw a research laboratory at the cutting edge of new treatment.

He was shown a new technique for a highly “targeted drug delivery system”, in which medicine is loaded into microbubbles to send to the precise site of cancer within the body.

There, using ultrasound, the bubbles are burst to deliver the drug to try to eradicate the cancer. The technique, which is about to begin clinical trials on humans, is designed to minimise the side effects of chemotherapy, using just ten to 20 per cent of the dose currently required.

For a daily dose of 9honey, subscribe to our newsletter here.

King Charles’ life in pictures, from childhood to ruling

‘Eureka moment’

The King proclaimed the research “amazing”. As he was shown the lab, including stations where the microbubbles are shaken and studied under microscopes, he raised his eyebrows in astonishment at hearing how it worked, and was heard to say “wow”.

Prof John Callan, Norbrook chair in pharmaceutical science, gave the tour, with Prof Mark Taylor, a consultant surgeon and visiting professor at Ulster University, explaining that they were seeking the next “eureka moment” in the field.

At one point, the King was startled by the machine wobbling the microbubbles, shaking his own head and hands along with it.

READ MORE: Queen Maxima dazzles in diamonds and sapphires during royal tour

He said he was particularly fascinated by the effect of treatment on the immune system, and asked whether pancreatic cancer was particularly hard to treat. The lab is working on pancreatic, prostate and breast cancer, with a research team made up of PhD and post-doctoral students.

The King arrived at the campus to a small crowd of students outside. One shouted “free Palestine”, while others cheered as the King walked towards them unexpectedly.

He made his way down the line, asking students about their courses and when their exams were. If they ran into problems with their lecturers today, he remarked “you can always blame me”.

READ MORE: Prince Harry’s US visa documents unsealed after drug claims

“We’ve already used you as an excuse!” one young woman told him, cheerfully.

“Good luck with your exams,” he said, waving as he walked into the building as the crowd clapped.

In the research centre, the King was introduced to scientists, researchers and PhD students working on stimulus-responsive therapeutic systems for cancer.

FOLLOW US ON WHATSAPP HERE: Stay across all the latest in celebrity, lifestyle and opinion via our WhatsApp channel. No comments, no algorithm and nobody can see your private details.

The history of cancer diagnoses in the British royal family

Hearing about the reduction in side effects, he clenched his fists for emphasis and exclaimed “yeah!”

“Well done,” he said, as he left.

After the visit to the lab, he spent time with four small groups of people including Ivan McMinn, Ann McBrien and Tim Kerr, who shared their experience of living with cancer in Northern Ireland and working to raise awareness.

READ MORE: The stories behind the royal fashion in Kensington Palace’s new show

He then unveiled a plaque marking the visit to the Cancer Research Centre.

‘Shine a light on their work’

A senior aide said afterwards: “It was of course particularly poignant for the King to learn a little about the work going on at the university to develop pioneering cancer treatments.

“While we wouldn’t comment in relation to his own treatment programme, I know His Majesty is deeply grateful to all the researchers and medical staff around the UK who are working tirelessly to support all those affected by cancer.

All the defining photos of the British royal family in 2025

“The breakthroughs that have been made in the past few years have been quite astonishing.

“The King was determined that this visit should be an occasion to meet and thank a few of those working in the field, in the hope it would help shine a light on their work, not his own illness, and in the process give all those affected by the disease a good booster shot of optimism.”

© Telegraph Media Group Limited 2025