The Royal Family will emerge stronger from the shock double cancer diagnosis of the King and the Princess of Wales, insiders insisted last night.
Sources said ‘things may look different for a while’ but senior royals are rallying around to ensure the continued ‘smooth sailing’ of the monarchy while two of its biggest stars have treatment.
And while it is likely that the country may have to get used to a ‘new normal’ when it comes to the institution, the insiders say it will be no less effective.
It can today be revealed that Charles is ‘so optimistic’ about his treatment that he has already expressed a hope to attend Royal Ascot this summer, as well as some of the garden parties at Buckingham Palace that honour community and military heroes.
He also intends to lead a small family gathering to church at Windsor on Easter Sunday, although the princess and her family will miss out.
Sources say that the King and the Princess of Wales have been brought closer together by their shared diagnosis
The King is so ‘optimistic’ about his treatment that he has expressed a hope to attend events this summer, including garden parties at Buckingham Palace
In a televised message on Friday, Catherine told the nation she began a course of ‘preventative chemotherapy’ in late February
A source said that Catherine’s diagnosis came as ‘a shock to her’. The Princess of Wales is pictured in December last year
The princess said she had reassured her three children, George, ten, Charlotte, eight, and Louis, five: ‘That I am going to be OK’
The Prince and Princess of Wales are spending Easter privately with their children, pictured in autumn 2020
Sources say the King, 75, and his daughter-in-law, 42, have been brought even closer by their shared diagnosis.
On Thursday they had lunch at Windsor, a day after Kate recorded a poignant video message revealing that tests after major abdominal surgery in January showed the presence of cancer.
She began a course of ‘preventative chemotherapy’ in late February, she told the nation, adding that she had reassured her three children, George, ten, Charlotte, eight, and Louis, five: ‘That I am going to be OK.’
Charles was already aware of the princess’s diagnosis but it is clear that given his own treatment for an unspecified form of cancer, the pair would have had a lot to discuss.
They have grown increasingly close over the years and the King greatly admires his daughter-in-law – with whom he shares a love of the arts and music – for bringing so much happiness to his son and for her ‘brilliance’ as a mother to his grandchildren.
They were both in hospital in January, after the King was admitted to The London Clinic for surgery on an enlarged prostate and it is known he visited Kate’s bedside several times.
A source also told the Mail yesterday that both the Prince and Princess of Wales had been greatly ‘heartened’ by the public messages of support they had received since the news was announced on Friday. They are spending Easter privately with their three children.
The source said: ‘They are human beings. Every person deals with it [cancer] totally differently. There is no fast forward button.
‘In the princess’s case, as she said, it was a shock to her. She had to process the news, then she had to help her husband to process the news … and then they had to get their three young children to a place where they could come to terms with it.
‘And then she had to share it with the entire world. This is never a message you would want to share, but it was right that it was done when she was ready.
The Princess of Wales (pictured in November 2023) has revealed that she felt it was her duty to tell the public about her cancer diagnosis
The Waleses at last year’s service traditional Easter service in St George’s Chapel in Windsor
It has been confirmed that the family will not attend the Easter service in Windsor next Sunday
It is understood William plans to be back at work in a ‘meaningful’ way after his children return to school following the Easter holidays
The source added that it was right that Catherine had shared her news with the world when she was ready
‘For her to come out and say I need the time and space and privacy to recover is really key and important. And hopefully they get that over Easter. They are human and this is a very human situation.’
Another source said that while it had been a ‘tough’ start to the year, the entire family had been touched by the public reaction.
‘What has been amazing in all of this is that far from what the republicans would have you believe, which is that people don’t really care about the Royal Family, is that the whole world actually cares a very great deal,’ they said. What is important, say insiders, is predictions of a crisis in the ranks may be vastly premature.
‘It’s a temporary period where two of its star players are out of action and if anything this will only make them stronger,’ said one. ‘The mood in the palace is one of optimism in the circumstances, it really is.’
It is understood William plans to be back at work in a ‘meaningful’ way after his children have returned to school following Easter. ‘He will continue to balance supporting his wife and his children in addition to his public duties the way he has over the last few months,’ a source explained.
Despite planning to return to work, William has ‘hunkered’ down in his most important role – being a ‘husband, father and son’ – one insider noted, claiming that he ‘knows only too well what lies in front of him one day’.
‘You can imagine what he must personally be going through,’ a friend told The Telegraph. ‘His wife is the centre of his world. His father is ill. He has got a lot on his plate.’
Queen Camilla, as well as Princess Anne and the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, will continue to undertake a slew of public engagements. And the King himself will continue to carry out his own duties, just away from the public gaze.
It is understood he has a ‘full programme’ of private and state commitments next week and is planning to ‘ramp up’ his schedule over the coming weeks.
‘While it is too early to confirm things – and, of course, it is relatively early in His Majesty’s treatment cycle – the patient is positive, the doctors are optimistic and the treatments are incredibly sophisticated,’ a source said.
‘You can see for yourself it hasn’t limited his capacity, it hasn’t impacted his appearance and it certainly hasn’t diminished his appetite for work.
‘Both the King and his team’s attitude is commitment – with knobs on.’
What the palace will, however, continue to take into account is the ‘risk threshold’ of associating with large numbers of people – rather like in Covid times.
Queen Camilla will continue to undertake a string of public engagements while her husband, the King plans to ‘ramp up’ his schedule of events outside the public gaze in the coming weeks
The Prince of Wales will continue to balance supporting his wife and children with public duties in the way he has over the past few months
The Palace will take into account the ‘risk threshold’ of the King associating with large numbers of people, meaning he will likely attend events such as Royal Ascot while staying in the royal box
This means that while Charles hopes to attend Royal Ascot, a hardy annual in the royal calendar, he is unlikely to mix with thousands of people but instead, perhaps, stay in the royal box where he can still be seen by the public.
The King’s former communications secretary, Paddy Harverson, said yesterday the public must come to terms with the ‘new reality’ that there are fewer working royals.
Speaking on the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme, he also denied that the institution was ‘fragile’.
He said: ‘We just have to come to terms with the new reality, there’s fewer of them. And so everyone just needs to sort of understand that they will still be busy, they will get over this. I am highly confident that the King, who I know well, is incredibly strong, very resilient, a great spiritual person, so I know he’ll get through it.
‘And likewise with Kate, I think once they’re through this sticky patch, I think we’ll get back to normal.’