Members of the Royal Family are thought to keep quiet about their health problems - but the King is not the first to have been diagnosed with a serious condition in later life.
The King has started treatment after being diagnosed with cancer - with the monarch stepping back from public duties on the advice of doctors. Members of the Royal Family are thought to often keep their health problems a secret, but Buckingham Palace has said the King chose to 'share his diagnosis to prevent speculation'. The statement adds that he also shared his diagnosis in the 'hope it may assist public understanding for all those around the world who are affected by cancer'.
In 2011, the Duke of Edinburgh was rushed to the hospital by helicopter from Sandringham due to chest pains. He was treated for a blocked coronary artery and underwent a minimally invasive coronary stent procedure. Two years earlier, Prince Philip was involved in a car crash when his vehicle was hit by another car. He was not injured but was seen by a doctor as a precaution. Princess Margaret The Queen's sister had several strokes in the years before her death in 2002.