King meets cancer patients at new hospital site

King Charles III has met with cancer patients during a visit to a new hospital site.

The monarch was cheered by staff and patients at York Hospital ahead of the opening of the Sir Robert Ogden Macmillan Cancer Centre.

He spoke with 49-year-old Lou Rhodes, who has stage four breast cancer and was involved in the design and development of the centre.

Rhodes, from Hopgrove in York, said it had been a "true honour" to meet him and they seemed to "connect straight away".

"The King was just lovely, so personable, so friendly," she added.

"He's got cancer, I've got cancer, and straightaway he sort of looked in my eyes, so you've got that bond I suppose.

"And I think he gets it, he understands, being a patient."

The King, royal patron of Macmillan Cancer Support, met people for whom the centre had been a lifeline during treatment and heard about their roles in shaping the new facility.

He greeted Macmillan health professionals and cancer nurse specialists, who explained how the £2.4m redevelopment would support thousands of people living with cancer in the region each year.

The King also spent time at the Animal and Plant Health Agency's York Biotech Campus earlier in the day.

He talked to scientists and volunteers about a project to protect red squirrels by limiting the numbers of non-native grey squirrels.

They explained that oral contraceptives would be delivered through a feeding programme to slow the rate of the species' population growth and help endangered red squirrels to thrive.

Dr Julie Lane, head of the National Wildlife Management Centre at the campus, told King Charles: "What a wonderful day you've given us.

"You've been championing our red squirrels for decades now, which is why we've been so keen to show you the work we've been doing here at the Animal and Plant Health Agency.

"Without you, this work would not be happening at all."

The King was presented with a framed photograph of a red squirrel by field ecologist Erin Thomas, who explained how she took the picture herself at the Yorkshire Arboretum, at nearby Castle Howard.

He thanked Thomas, saying "that's fantastic".

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