After one particularly major life event, royal insiders have revealed that King Charles ‘lightened up’ significantly – and seems far less ‘stressed’ compared to those around him

King Charles has undoubtedly faced an incredibly challenging 12 months, undergoing cancer treatment at the same time as settling into his role as monarch.

As the person to hold the title Prince of Wales for the longest time in British history, Charles had a lot of time to prepare for what he wanted his reign to look like – but he still had a big pair of shoes to fill.

The late Queen Elizabeth maintained sky-high approval ratings throughout the majority of her long reign, and Charles had only been on the throne just over a year when he was diagnosed with cancer.

The monarch was then forced to step back from public duties for a time as he focussed on his treatments, but after being given the all-clear to get back to engagements by his doctors, Charles has been hard at work.

While the King’s cancer treatment is said to be continuing this year, those around him are impressed with the light-heartedness and positivity he has shown despite these personal challenges.

Insiders speaking to ABC News Australia explained that this positive outlook is something that they have come to expect from Charles, after watching him work for many years.

One insider, royal photographer Arthur Edwards, who has captured photographs of the royals at major, and minor, events over decades revealed that in his opinion, there was one major life event that took place nearly 20 years ago that saw the now-King “lighten up” for good, and seem far less stressed out generally – his marriage to Queen Camilla.

While Charles and Camilla had been romantically involved long before they made things official and tied the knot in 2005, it was their wedding that saw this shift in Charles’s approach, the royal expert claimed.

“When Charles married Camilla, from that day on he lightened up, no longer stressed about things,” Edwards said, but he wasn’t the only person from Charles’s inner circle who spoke about the hugely positive effect the Queen has had on her husband.

Julian Payne, who formerly worked as Charles and Camilla’s communications secretary, said: “I think she’s given him the assurance that it’s okay to allow a degree of informality into the edges of what you do. You can have a joke. You can dance with me at an Elvis tea dance. It won’t make a mockery of the royal institution.”

Payne added that whilst Charles has some great advisors around him, Camilla is up there as one of his best, “The Queen is the greatest consigliere that the King has” the insider explained.