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As King Charles welcomed French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte, to Windsor on July 8, some observers noticed a bloodshot appearance in his right eye.
The King, joined by Queen Camilla, Kate Middleton and Prince William, led the ceremonial start of the French state visit — but many images from the event showed visible redness in one eye.
A palace source quickly offered reassurance, clarifying that the monarch had experienced a burst blood vessel in one eye. They added that it’s just one of those things and unrelated to any other health condition, including the King’s ongoing cancer treatment.
According to the Mayo Clinic, a broken blood vessel in the eye — known as a subconjunctival hemorrhage — can look alarming but is typically harmless. It often occurs without any obvious injury and may be caused by something as simple as a strong sneeze or cough. No treatment is usually needed, and the redness tends to clear on its own within one to two weeks.
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The King, 76, carried out his royal duties as planned on Tuesday, hosting President and First Lady Macron at Windsor Castle with full ceremonial honors, including a Guard of Honour, a carriage procession and a lunch in the State Dining Room. A glittering state banquet is also set to take place this evening in St. George’s Hall, with both leaders scheduled to deliver speeches.
The outing marks another milestone in King Charles’s ongoing return to public-facing duties following his cancer diagnosis last year.
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“The thing you learn about this illness is that you just manage it, and that’s what he does,” a royal aide said in May of the monarch’s ongoing treatment.
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“Medical science has made incredible advances, and I genuinely see no difference in him,” they added. “As long as you just do what the doctors say, just live your life as normal as possible. That’s exactly what he is doing.”
