Care for each other

King's message to nation amid royal health scares

- RUSSELL MYERS

THE King has urged the nation to serve and care for each other, as he and the Princess of Wales battle cancer.

Charles's pre-recorded speech - his first public words since Kate revealed she was having chemotherapy - will be broadcast in his absence at a Royal Maundy service in Worcester Cathedral today.

His Majesty will talk about how Jesus Christ set an "example of how we should serve and care for each other" and how as a nation "we need and benefit greatly from those who extend the hand of friendship to us, especially in a time of need".

While the King, 75, does not directly refer to his and his daughter-in-law's health, his words will be interpreted as reflecting on the nation's response to the challenges he and Kate face.

SERVICE