The royal family is postponing public engagements to stop them clashing with the newly-announced UK general election

The palace said in a statement: "Following the Prime Minister's statement this afternoon calling a General Election, the royal family will, in accordance with normal procedure, postpone engagements that may appear to divert attention or distract from the election campaign.

"Their Majesties send their sincere apologies to any of those who may be affected as a result."

Charles has been back in the public eye with his wife Queen Camilla, 76, since it was announced he was receiving treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer.

A full list of future royal events that will be impacted by the election move has not been released, but Charles and Camilla's scheduled appearances for the D-Day 80th anniversary in Portsmouth and Normandy in June are understood to be going ahead.

Charles has already seen two prime ministers during his short reign, with Liz Truss' stint in power the shortest in British history, leading to Rishi Sunak being announced as PM six weeks after he acceded to the throne on 8 September, 2022.

Mr Sunak and Charles spent around 15 minutes together in the king's private audience room on Wednesday before the announcement royal appearances were being cancelled for the sake of the election.

Charles returned to public-facing engagements in April after his cancer diagnosed was revealed in February.

Meanwhile, Charles burst into laughter during an encounter with TV host with Declan Donnelly, 48, at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday.

The king met the presenter while hosting a reception for the winners of the 20th Prince's Trust Awards.

Dec, who attended with wife Ali Astall, 45, got the monarch laughing when he told him his TV partner Ant McPartlin, 48, wasn't able to come as was "too busy breastfeeding" after having his first child with wife Anne-Marie - a son named Wilder.