Achi news desk-
London, United Kingdom –
King Charles III’s decision to be open about his cancer diagnosis has helped the new queen connect with the British people and strengthened the monarchy in the year since her glittering coronation at Westminster Abbey.
Charles has used his illness to draw attention to the need for early diagnosis and treatment, showing leadership at a time of personal hardship. And in the process, people have begun to see him as a more flesh-and-blood character who faces the same challenges as them, not just an archetype of wealth and privilege.
“Ultimately, health is the great leveller,” says Anna Whitelock, professor of the history of the monarchy at City University, London. “And the truth is, the royal family, like so many other families, are coping with a cancer diagnosis. And I think that has … taken away the energy of the big challenges for the king.”
Questions still remain. Can a 1,000-year-old hereditary monarchy represent the people of modern Britain? How will the organization address concerns about its links to empire and slavery? Should the monarchy be replaced with an elected head of state?
But for now, at least, those issues have been largely put aside as the 75-year-old monarch undergoes treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer.
Of all the things that experts expected the royal family to face in the year after Charles’ coronation, the events of the last five months had taken Britain by surprise.
First, Charles was treated for an enlarged prostate, then revealed his cancer diagnosis. That was quickly followed by an announcement that the Princess of Wales, Prince William’s wife, Kate, also had cancer.
Both retreated from their public duties to focus on their health. William followed suit so he could support his wife and the couple’s three young children.
It wasn’t just the septuagenarian queen who was sick, but the much younger future queen. Her husband needed to help. Suddenly the royal family seemed much more vulnerable, more human.
With three members of the royal family out of action, the Windsors were stretched thin as they tried to keep up with the constant barrage of ceremonial appearances, award presentations and ribbon cuttings that make up modern royal life.
Into the breach stepped, of all people, Queen Camilla.
Once seen as the scourge of the House of Windsor because of her role in breaking up Charles’ marriage to the late Princess Diana, Camilla emerged as one of the monarchy’s most prominent emissaries. Increasing her appearance schedule, the queen played a vital role in keeping the royal family in the public eye.
Wherever she went, royal supporters offered get-well cards and words of encouragement to Charles and Kate.
In many ways, the story of Charles’ first year since the coronation is about Camilla’s progress and how effective she has been in representing the king, Whitelock said.
“The crowds that reach out to her have been quite amazing,” she said. “So I think this first year has been the reign of Charles and Camilla in a way that we would never have imagined.”
Together, they helped create a year of stability for the monarchy, despite predictions by some critics that the death of Queen Elizabeth II would usher in an era of change.
That is not to say that Charles was free of troubles, many in his own family.
The king’s relationship with his younger son was strained even before Prince Harry and his wife Meghan stepped down from their royal duties and moved to California in 2020. But the early publication last year of a memoir bomb Harry, “Spare,” deepened the rift with allegations about the unintentional racism of the royal family and love dealing with the tabloid press.
And then there’s Charles’ brother, Prince Andrew, whose links to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein continue to cause headaches for the king. Last month, Netflix released a full film about the disastrous interview in 2019 in which Andrew tried to justify his relationship with Epstein.
But throughout the past year, Charles worked to be more open about the workings of the monarchy, continued to speak out on environmental issues and promote interfaith dialogue, said George Gross, a royal historian at King’s College London.
Then came the king’s decision to publicize his health problems to show the benefits of early intervention in a country where cancer survival rates lag behind many other rich countries.
“Out of adversity, he has managed to change it. It’s wrong to say he took advantage of it, because it’s a catastrophic situation to be in, and anyone diagnosed with cancer is going to be very, very worried,” Gross said. “But this is how he, as head of state, has been able to do good with a very simple message, and I think that’s a wonderful thing.”
Charles underlined his message last week when he began returning to public-facing duties with a visit to a cancer care centre.
On a tour of University College Hospital’s Macmillan Cancer Center in central London, the monarch sat with 63-year-old cancer patient Lesley Woodbridge and held her hand as chemotherapy drugs slowly dripped into her arm.
“It’s always a bit of a shock, isn’t it, when they tell you?” he said, adding: “I have to have my treatment this afternoon too.”
It’s the kind of personal connection Britons don’t usually expect from the royal family, which is known more for reserve than emotion.
After the monarch announced his diagnosis, Cancer Research UK recorded a 33 per cent increase in visits to its website as people sought information about the signs of cancer, said Michelle Mitchell, the charity’s chief executive.
That may have saved lives. And people contacted the king.
Mitchell said she was struck by how very personal the king’s visit to the cancer center was.
Patients willingly told Charles and Camilla their cancer stories, and the royal couple responded with personal details of their own journey, he said.
“I observed not just empathy, but real compassion,” Mitchell said. “And overall, the atmosphere of the day was one of hope – but hope, I think, framed with the importance of research bringing more progress.”
