With three recent cancer diagnoses and multiple members of the family having already stepped back from their duties, the Royals faces a challenging year ahead
The Princess of Wales’ shock cancer diagnosis – which comes just weeks after King Charles revealed he too is battling the disease – underlines a difficult year for the Royal family.
In an emotional address to the public, Kate revealed she was diagnosed with cancer after undergoing major abdominal surgery in January. The princess, 42, said: “This of course came as a huge shock, and William and I have been doing everything we can to process and manage this privately for the sake of our young family”, adding she is undergoing a course of preventative chemotherapy.
While the King, 75, undergoes treatment for his cancer, both working Royals will be stepping back from their public duties to allow them enough time to recover. Prince William is set to return to his Royal duties after the Easter holidays, but his main priority will be looking after Kate and their three little ones, a spokesperson from Kensington Palace revealed.
In January, a representative for Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, 64, told she had been diagnosed with skin cancer in another devastating blow for the family.
It means challenging times for the Royals as an organisation, with many members having already stepped back from their duties in the last few years – including the loss of the Duke and Duchess of Suessex to the firm, as well as the Duke of York, whose association with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein forced him to step down from his official duties.
Despite such difficult circumstances, there are a number of Royal stalwarts that the firm can turn to in unprecedented times of need. Queen Camilla has continued to soldier on, having carried out solo visits to the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland this week, both of which were intended as joint trips alongside the King.
Princess Anne, 73, is considered one of the busiest royals with many duties carried out every year, but even she has admitted that it’s tough when there aren’t many senior royals working. In a documentary last year, Anne mentioned: “I think ‘slimmed down’ was said in a day when there were a few more people around. It doesn’t sound like a good idea from where I’m standing, I would say. I’m not quite sure what else we can do.”
Other members of the Royal family are set to step up. The Duchess of Gloucester has already provided great support to the Queen on recent engagements, while the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh may have a chance to step up in the absence of senior royals, bringing a sense of normality and informality to their duties.
But with two key royals now unable to carry out their usual work for the foreseeable future, questions have been raised over how the family will manage under such challenging circumstances.
