A gift from the King! Young cancer sufferer, 11, tells of his excitement as ... trends now

An 11-year-old cancer patient said today it was 'very exciting' meeting the King and Queen after they gave him three books and a Buckingham Palace chocolate coin.

Ellis Edwards was among those gathered at the University College Hospital Macmillan Cancer Centre in London as Charles and Camilla visited this morning.

The boy from Southampton, who is receiving radiotherapy at the hospital, greeted the King and Queen with his mother Carly Edwards and gave them flowers.

Ellis was given Swallows And Amazons by Arthur Ransome, The Man Who Planted Trees by Jean Giono and My Family And Other Animals by Gerald Durrell.

He later said: 'I was telling her (Camilla) about my treatment and my trip to Leicester Square, going to Hamleys and the cinemas. It was very exciting meeting them.'

Ms Edwards added: 'It's a really nice distraction this. I'm really proud of him, he's really brave and a superstar so it's great he can do something nice. He deserves it.'

Ellis and another girl, six-year-old Della Thomas, presented Charles and Camilla with posies as they left the hospital around noon after meeting cancer patients.

The royals gave Della of a large stuffed toy Jack Russell dog, based on the Queen's own pet Beth, and some Beefeater stationery – as well as a large chocolate coin.

In 2020, MailOnline reported on how Ellis visited his GP 11 times before he was found to have what doctors described as the largest tumour they had ever seen.

Ellis was diagnosed in March 2019 aged five with a rare childhood cancer called neuroblastoma, causing a cancerous tumour which crushed his left lung.

It comes as the King bravely met cancer patients on the first public engagement since his own diagnosis just hours before he went for treatment himself.

Charles, 75, said it was a 'bit of a shock' to have been given a cancer diagnosis, but said he wasn't doing 'too bad'.

Asked how he was, by a patient undergoing chemotherapy, the King replied: 'Not too bad. It's always a bit of a shock, isn't it, when they tell you?'

During the visit with Camilla, he was asked repeatedly how he was feeling, telling someone: 'I'm alright thank you very much, not too bad.'

Finishing his conversation with a patient who will be continuing her own treatment later, he said: 'I know the feeling.'

He is understood to be having further treatment this afternoon. Charles was also extremely keen to spread the message of the importance of early diagnosis.

Several times during the visit, the King said: 'We need to get more people tested early.'

The King and Queen arrived at the hospital by car, acknowledging a large group of waiting reporters with a wave.

Inside, where they were expected to walk straight through a foyer to begin meeting staff, they leapt straight into an impromptu walkabout.

So many patients had waited to see them that the hospital's security staff had put up a rope cordon.

As they shook hands with a few dozen people, the King answered questions about his health to say he was 'fine' and thanked hospital staff for their hard work.

Shown down to the basement floor, they were introduced to experts working on a new melanoma vaccine, and a lung cancer study.

They were also shown the CT scanner which has helped save 250 lives in the last two years thanks to early detection.

'The trouble is to get enough people early,' the King said, adding of the study: 'There's so much positive news.'

Mentioning that he was worried the royal visit had stopped people coming in, he was reassured that nobody's treatment had been affected.

In their first official joint engagement this year, the King and Queen fell into their old pattern of him leading the way, and her following closely behind, usually making separate conversation.

Each asked after staff, with the King keen to hear about shift patterns. 'How long are you on duty?' he asked one. 'I hope you have a lunch break.'

As they walked through the hospital corridors, they were occasionally stopped as a small crowd gathered around them.

At one point, the Queen noticed a man wearing a hospital gown trying to squeeze through, asking people to make way for him.

'I commend you for being here to support us,' the patient, who gave his name as Richard, told the couple.

Upstairs, in a large room set out with pink cushioned armchairs where patients were receiving chemotherapy through IV drips, the King and Queen paused at the nurses' station.

They asked technical questions about the methods and length of treatment offered in the hospital, hearing how some patients stay in a nearby hotel while they complete it.

The King and Queen were then introduced to patients and their loved ones.

Lesley Woodbridge, 63, who was in for her second round of chemotherapy for a sarcoma after the first did not work, had a long conversation with the King, while her husband Roger spoke to the Queen - all four

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