The King joked with patients about ageing as he reopened public duties after illness

King Charles returned to public duties in Birmingham, joking with hospital patients about the challenges of ageing as he opened the Midland Metropolitan University Hospital in Smethwick.

It was the monarch’s first official engagement of the autumn, after a planned visit in March was postponed when he fell ill following an adverse reaction to cancer treatment.

Meeting staff and patients, the King Charles shared a moment of humour with 85-year-old Jacqueline Page, who remarked she was “wearing out”. He replied: “That’s the terrible thing I’m discovering. Bits don’t work so well when you get past 70.”

Mrs Page told him she remembered a royal visit to the Midlands in the 1970s, when he had flown in by helicopter. The King admitted the passing of time was “terrifying”.

During the tour, Charles also spoke with cancer patients undergoing treatment. When a patient commented on his recovery, he said with a smile: “I’m not too bad, thank you.”

He met Matthew Shinda, receiving treatment for prostate cancer, who described delays in his diagnosis. “I’m very sorry about that, it’s so frustrating,” the King said, recalling his own procedure for an enlarged prostate last year and his campaign urging men to get checked.

The two men shared a lighter exchange when Mr Shinda’s daughter mentioned her father’s fondness for whisky. “Do they allow you a tiny dram of whisky occasionally?” the King asked. “I knew I should have brought one.” He went on to quip that whisky was “supposed to be very good for the heart”.

The King also discussed advances in cancer care with Phillip Barnard, a lung cancer patient receiving immunotherapy. He asked about possible side-effects and remarked: “That’s becoming very prevalent.”

As he toured the hospital, which officially opened last October, the King was introduced to baby Hernata Yonas, the first child born there just 90 minutes after the maternity ward had opened. He also took time to shake hands, pose for selfies and chat with staff, volunteers and patients who had gathered to meet him.

Earlier in the day, Charles had visited the Oratory of St Philip Neri in Birmingham, founded by Cardinal John Henry Newman, the 19th-century theologian and philosopher canonised as a saint in 2019. “I’ve been trying for five years to come here,” the King told clergy, recalling his presence at Newman’s canonisation in Rome.

At the oratory, he was shown personal items belonging to Newman, including an original handwritten score of Edward Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius, composed from a Newman poem. The King has long been committed to interfaith work and spoke of his interest in Newman’s legacy.

The day marked a visible return to public life after his recent health setbacks. By sharing jokes about ageing and candid words with cancer patients, Charles struck a tone of empathy and humour, blending the ceremonial with the personal