In this week’s Gossip with Celebitchy podcast (out tomorrow morning!), CB and I talked about whether King Charles and the Princess of Wales need to disclose further details about their health issues. I ended up sort of defending Charles – I’ve been surprised by how much he’s disclosed already, and I’ve been surprised by how often he has been seen in the past two months. It’s clear that his cancer treatments have knocked him on his ass, but instead of hiding away for months, he’s been sort of openly vulnerable. I will criticize Charles for a lot of things, but I think he’s handled his health problems well enough for a head of state, although sure, he could and probably should disclose more about his cancer and treatment. But compared to Kate, Charles has been Mr. Disclosure and Mr. Visible.

Obviously, Kate absolutely needs to disclose more, or failing that, Kensington Palace needs to stop being so squirrelly. KP looks like they’ve created a web of lies and they’re terrified that someone will start pulling at those strings. Speaking of, the Daily Mail’s A.N. Wilson is now calling for both Charles and Kate to disclose a lot more – this isn’t some tantrum by a Mail columnist, it’s actually a pretty sober analysis about how the lack of disclosures are destabilizing the monarchy. Some highlights:

The Windsors have lost control of the narrative: They might hope to control what is said about them. But they cannot stop rumour-mongers, and if they are clumsy about handling information about themselves, they only make the speculation more sensationalist, and do more damage. That is what is happening now with the Royal Family and those who control their ‘PR’. It is no exaggeration to say that, earlier this week, the internet exploded with wild, sometimes distressing, theories about the health of the royals.

William’s indecently short-notice cancellation: The immediate cause of the surge in interest was the comparatively trivial news that, at indecently short notice, Prince William had missed his godfather King Constantine’s memorial service in St George’s Chapel, Windsor, five minutes down the road from his home. Trivial it seemed, at least, until Kensington Palace made a thing of it by saying his absence was due to a mysterious ‘personal matter’. Inevitably, this put the wind up all of us, not least the rumour-mongers. Was Kate more ill than we had been told? Was all well with their marriage? A whole cluster of questions which never needed to have been asked came to the public mind. Not because the public is nosy, or prurient, but because they had been fed half-truths by the Palace.

The solution: The only way to stop this kind of frenzy in our ugly social media age is, I am afraid, for the Palace to come clean about the health of the royals. And I say this as a monarchist who admires both the King and the Princess of Wales. You could ask why don’t we all mind our own business and leave the Royal Family in peace? But there are reasons for that which will not go away. The first is that all this guesswork and scandal-mongering on the internet feeds on itself and destabilises the monarchy that we hold dear. As gossip and hearsay swirl about it, seldom can I remember the institution — no King, no Princess of Wales, and a sudden disappearance by Prince William — looking so vulnerable. The second reason is that, whether they like it or not, the King and his family are public figures, funded by taxpayers’ money. What happens to them is not private in the sense that the rest of us have private lives.

The head of state’s health is of national concern: In other countries, such as France or the U.S., the health of the head of state is a public matter, and bulletins are issued of a fairly detailed kind. People are entitled to know about the health of their head of state. But, of course, the royals may find it difficult to adapt, for things used to be very different…We do not live in that world any more, but one of information and, worse, disinformation overload. A world in which the Royal Family complain about rumour and speculation, but unfortunately encourage it by giving only partial bulletins about health matters.

Charles should disclose more: The King has, at least been more straightforward than William and Kate. We were told about his treatment for an enlarged prostate, and then informed that he is suffering from cancer. This information, we are led to believe, is part of an unprecedented new openness from the royals about their health. It may well be. But I believe we should know more. Feeding the public with tit-bits was always going to encourage grubby hypotheses. What was needed was a candid, simple statement: ‘In the course of treatment at the London Clinic, the King was found to be suffering from cancer of X. He is undergoing treatment. Further bulletins will be issued when the state of His Majesty’s health is known.’

William, as the future head of state, needs a different approach: Clearly, we cannot expect that approach from William and Kate, who have been very much less transparent, perhaps in view of the fact William is not yet King. Of course, a delicate balance has to be struck. Their many admirers and well-wishers do not want to intrude on private sorrows. And they and their children are entitled to our respect. What William is not entitled to is the kind of private life we take for granted. He is heir to the throne, and taxpayers are entitled to know about their next Head of State.

Can Will & Kate cope if they need to step up soon? We all hope King Charles will make a speedy recovery from his cancer, and reign over us for a long time to come. But he is a 75-year-old man with a serious illness. At the moment, rumours fly around about the Prince and Princess of Wales, which make us question if he and Kate are in a position to take over, should this dire duty be thrust upon them. Our heart goes out to them, but they are not, unfortunately, in a position to hide from us the harsh realities about their health — however much they may want to.

[From The Daily Mail]

Yeah, I agree with all of this. Wilson’s solution is that Charles basically needs to say what kind of cancer he has and what kind of treatment he’s receiving, and I agree – that information would help dampen a lot of the rumors. Unless, of course, his cancer is much more serious than the palace has already led us to believe, in which case further disclosures might lead to some panic. But really, this is more about the Waleses and their stubborn refusal to disclose anything. And for this to come out in the Mail as well… it feels like the worm might be turning. I hope so.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.