PHNOM PENH, April 10, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Cambodia's King Norodom Sihamoni has 
been diagnosed with prostate cancer, he said in a statement on Friday, and 
will stay in China for prolonged treatment for the disease.

Doctors in Beijing "have confirmed that currently I have prostate cancer", 
the 72-year-old king said in a statement to his country, adding that doctors 
have prescribed hospitalisation of up to two months for treatment.

A lifelong bachelor who speaks French, Czech and English, Sihamoni spent most 
of his adult life abroad pursuing a career in the arts before taking the 
throne in 2004.

He took over the role after his father King Norodom Sihanouk abdicated 
following his own cancer treatment in Beijing.

Sihamoni's reign as head of state has been largely symbolic under a deal 
struck between his father and Cambodia's leadership in 1993, allowing him to 
re-ascend the throne after years in exile.