LONDON, April 1, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - King Charles III on Tuesday carried out his first public engagement since a short spell in hospital last week for side effects from his cancer treatment.

Charles, 76, on Thursday postponed all his appointments for the rest of the day and for Friday on doctors' advice after suffering some temporary symptoms, Buckingham Palace said.

Officials regarded the short hospital stay of a few hours as a "minor bump" in his medical journey.

In the first of his engagements for this week, Charles was all smiles as he handed out honours at Windsor Castle west of London to leading figures including reigning world heptathlon champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson who was recognised with an Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for her services to athletics.

Johnson-Thompson said afterwards the monarch "seemed in good spirits. You know it's long, all day, because so many people are getting honoured today.

"So he seems in really good spirits and I'm happy to see that he's fit and well."

Gardner and broadcaster Alan Titchmarsh, who received a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE), also praised Charles's "boundless energy".

Other engagements later in the week will include the king's weekly meeting with Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

A small number of appointments, however, had been rescheduled ahead of a state visit that Charles and his wife Queen Camilla will make to Italy next week.

Charles announced he had been diagnosed with an unspecified cancer in February last year.

He returned to work within two-and-a-half months and gradually ramped up his duties during the rest of 2024, including making several foreign trips which took him as far as Australia and Samoa.

Just six weeks after Charles's cancer announcement came the news that his daughter-in-law Catherine, Princess of Wales, had also been diagnosed with cancer and had begun chemotherapy.

Catherine, who is married to heir to Charles's eldest son Prince William, said in January that she was now in remission