Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni issued a statement on 10/4, announcing that doctors in Beijing diagnosed him with prostate cancer and advised him to be hospitalized for about two months of treatment.

King Sihamoni, 72 years old, traveled to Beijing for a health check-up over a month ago.

Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni in Paris, France, in 10/2024. *AFP*

Born in 1953, King Sihamoni is the son of Monineath, the sixth wife of former King Norodom Sihanouk. His name, Sihamoni, is a combination of the first two syllables from his parents' names.

King Sihamoni received much of his education abroad, including studying cinema in North Korea in 1975. He served as Cambodia's ambassador to the United Nations in the early 1990s before moving to Paris to become Cambodia's permanent representative to UNESCO.

He returned to Phnom Penh in 2004 to ascend the throne after his father, King Sihanouk, abdicated. King Sihanouk had also battled cancer and other illnesses, receiving treatment in Beijing.

Ngoc Anh (According to Reuters, AFP, Khmer Times)