Did King Charles III smoke tobacco? Connection between smoking and cancer explained

During the 20th century, the royal family had a history of excessive smoking.

Monarchs would smoke an obscene number of cigarettes every day, coronations were commemorated on tobacco packaging and journals even celebrated the historic connection between smoking and the royal family.

Both King Edward VIII and King George VI were prolific smokers, and both ended up dying from cancer. But what health risks are posed by smoking - and in light of his recent cancer diagnosis, was King Charles III ever a smoker himself?

The dangers of smoking

Smoking is notoriously bad for your health, and according to the NHS is one of the biggest causes of death and illness in the UK. Every year around 76,000 people in the UK die from smoking, with tobacco increasing the risk of developing more than 50 serious health conditions.

Smoking causes around 7 out of every 10 cases of lung cancer, as well as causing cancers in the mouth, throat, bowel, bladder, kidney, liver and more.

But smoking can also cause a plethora of other illnesses. Since it damages your heart and blood circulation, it can lead to strokes, heart attacks, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and pneumonia.

There is also a risk of causing erectile dysfunction and infertility, as well as making it harder to recover from surgery.

Was Charles III a smoker?

Having grown up in an era when the health risks of smoking weren't as well-known, it would be understandable if Charles had smoked in his younger years. At a reception with respiratory nurses at a Clarence House in 2013, he revealed that he actually quit smoking at the age of 11.

Since then, the monarch has taken a fierce anti-smoking stance, and to this day is the patron of more than 30 healthcare organisations.

In 2023, he confirmed in his King's Speech that the government will also be enforcing a "generational" phasing-out of tobacco in the UK.