The Mirror’s royal editor Russell Myers gives his thoughts on the Princess of Wales’ cancer diagnosis and the impact that it will have on the Royal Family that is going through an “unprecedented time”
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Russell Myers shares his thoughts on Princess Kate’s cancer diagnosis
The Royal Family face an unprecedented time after Kate’s cancer diagnosis but they are said to pull together in their “darkest hour”, says the Mirror’s royal editor Russell Myers.
With speculation rife over her health following an abdominal operation last January, Kate has now revealed that she has cancer in a video message released today. She said that the news was a “huge shock” but she is feeling “stronger every day”. Kate has been absent from public duties since the operation during a difficult period for the Royal Family with King Charles and Sarah Ferguson also having been given cancer diagnoses.
And Russell has said that with all the talk about when Kate will be back doing royal duties, we now know that she will be unavailable for the “foreseeable future” along with the King. “This is a huge, huge moment not only for Kate but the rest of the Royal Family, we have King suffering from his own cancer diagnosis, he’s out of duties for the foreseeable future, even though he is trying to remain to be seen,” said Russell.
“He’s been seen in the car driving around London or taking meetings with the Prime Minister or the Chancellor, taking very few engagements. This is a hugely unprecedented time for the Royal Family it will be a time that they will have to pull together and certainly people at the Palace have told me in the darkest hour this is when the royals really do pull together and I am sure they are going to totally need all the help they can get.”
And Russell also pointed to the strain that will now be on William. “In the midst of this there is a huge weight on William’s shoulders as well,” he said. “Not only is he dealing with his father’s cancer diagnosis but he is now dealing with his wife’s as well and all the while he has got three young children at home to look after.”
The King is having treatment for cancer that was announced on February 5. He was diagnosed with an enlarged prostate in January and spent three days in hospital after undergoing a medical procedure for the benign condition. It was during this intervention that a separate issue of concern was noted and subsequently diagnosed as a form of cancer. This second condition will now receive “appropriate treatment from a specialist team”, Buckingham Palace stated at the time.
And in January, Sarah was told that she had skin cancer, only months after she underwent surgery on her breast. Dermatologists removed a mole from her body and sent it for tests, which came back confirming she had a malignant melanoma, which is the most serious form of skin cancer.
