King Charles III and Kate, Princess of Wales, have undisclosed forms of cancer, and this has left two of the British Crown's main players absent from public events "for months to come." Prince William is now the main focus of the monarchy, but his ailing wife and his three children will also need him, despite his expected devotion to steady his father's crown.
This led royal expert Richard Kay to state: "All those close to Prince William acknowledge [that] he has never ducked a challenge, nor failed to face adversity as he so memorably demonstrated as a 15-year-old boy when the gaze of the world descended on him after the death of his mother, Princess Diana."
"But the health crisis afflicting his wife is as great a trial as the loss of his mother, possibly greater," he added. "For William, the father, his first instincts will be for the welfare of his three children, with whom he and Kate have had to share the devastating news."
Kay described what is currently being seen with the Crown as the "gravest crisis it has faced since the abdication" of King Edward VIII in 1936. "For the simple fact, the absence of both the Princess of Wales and the King represents a supercharged shock to the royal system. Charles and Kate are, by some distance, the most charismatic members of the family — the King in his genial reliability, Kate in her beauty and compassion."
Kay continued: "Right now, these are unstable times for a royal family stripped of its star performers — and stability goes to its very core. But if history teaches us one thing about the monarchy, it is that it can overcome the most testing of obstacles. It has survived revolution, civil war, and the darkest of threats."
In addition to the Prince of Wales, Queen Camilla will also lead the monarchy for what many analysts are saying "could be the rest of this year." Princess Anne, Prince Edward and Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, will also "work overtime" to do everything they can to keep the monarchy relevant to the public.
"Legitimate questions will be asked about whether this reduced pecking order will cope," Kay observed. "The experience of the past few weeks has shown just how vulnerable the family has become and the public’s reaction has been one of disquiet."
The commentator then pointed out how "Nothing illustrated that unease more than the sight of the disgraced Prince Andrew leading the royals into the Windsor memorial service for ex-King Constantine of Greece. It triggered worldwide consternation, largely because of the unexplained absence of Prince William, the late King’s godson."
Multiple royal sources have stated that the heir to the throne's sudden cancelation from the funeral, which made news headlines, was the moment the future queen's cancer was confirmed.
Daily Mirror reported on Kay's comments.
