Maybe I’m misreading the general mood, but it feels to me like the Princess of Wales’s video, where she spoke about her cancer and chemotherapy, mollified the casual royal-watchers in every sense. We saw Kate and most people believe that the video is authentic. We also completely understand why Kate needs some time to rest and recover. That was one of my biggest takeaways – Kate won’t be seen for a while (or she’ll only be seen sparsely) and everyone understands that and has compassion for that. Alongside that, my assessment of the general mood is a kind of general ambivalence towards the monarchy. People aren’t super-concerned about the longevity of the institution either way. King Charles and the Princess of Wales will be largely MIA for months and their absences are being met with a shrug. It’s also being met with a very telling briefing storm from Buckingham Palace, all about how this is just a minor blip, everyone will be back to work soon enough.
A double health scare which has left the King and Princess of Wales unable to carry out public duties as they undergo cancer treatment is a “temporary blip” and not a “seismic change” for the monarchy, palace sources have said. The King is said to be “very positive” and his doctors “optimistic”, as aides plan for him to build back to resume his fuller schedule of engagements “towards the summer”.
But, one source told The Telegraph: “It’s a temporary blip, not a seismic change.” They added: “It feels like a short period where there has been understandable concern. But the King is very positive, his doctors are optimistic, and you can see the impact of treatment has not impeded him. What’s pretty incredible is how the business of state has continued. The Queen is fulfilling her duties, the King is undertaking all of his constitutional workload and I think we’ll continue to see royal activity across the board.”
The King has made a conscious effort to be photographed undertaking his key duties, including issuing a rare video from his private audience with the Prime Minister, pictures of him welcoming visiting diplomats, and regular shots of him in the car to and from Buckingham Palace and Clarence House. The Queen will carry out three engagements this week, including representing the King at the annual Royal Maundy service.
Of the King’s future return to public engagements, the palace source said: “We continue to plan for an optimistic outcome, building towards the summer.”
Ailsa Anderson, a former press secretary to Queen Elizabeth II, told GB News: “It’s not a crisis. A crisis is an abdication. Crisis is not knowing the line of succession. This is a bump in the road. It is not a major earthquake in my opinion. You’ve got two senior members of the Royal Family who are ill, who are being treated for cancer. But hopefully this is a blip and going forward they will recuperate and carry on doing the amazing work that they do. I think going forward, let her [the Princess of Wales] have some peace. Let her have some privacy. Let the family have some privacy so she can recuperate. And the palace shouldn’t be providing a running commentary, absolutely. We never did when the late Queen was unwell or Prince Philip. We always say we’re not going to provide a day-to-day commentary on their condition.”
Asked by host Camilla Tominey, also The Telegraph’s associate editor, whether the Royal family is too small, she said: “I think the balance is right at the moment. Obviously, we have two members of the Royal family out of action, but they will come back into the fold again.”
It feels like the public understands that the “working royals” are going to do less and be seen infrequently, but the panic with which the palace is briefing everyone that it’s just a minor blip is causing some concern. After all, Queen Elizabeth’s bone cancer was downgraded in palace briefings as “mobility issues” and “some pain.” It’s not just the clownery from Kensington Palace – there is a palpable sense of panic within the institution and within the royal press that everything has gone t-ts up. Even worse, there are concerns that people won’t actually miss the privacy-obsessed royals, to the point where British people will get used to not seeing them or thinking about them at all.
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- (From L) Britain’s Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Britain’s Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Britain’s Prince Charles, Prince of Wales and Britain’s Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, speak upon arrival at Westminster Abbey, in London, on March 14, 2022 to attend the Commonwealth Day service ceremony.,Image: 669620709, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: DANIEL LEAL / Avalon
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- Britain’s Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall (front) followed by Britain’s Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, arrive to attend the Commonwealth Day service ceremony at Westminster Abbey, in London, on March 14, 2022.,Image: 669620732, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: DANIEL LEAL / Avalon
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- Britain’s Prince Charles, Prince of Wales and Britain’s Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall attend the Commonwealth Day service ceremony at Westminster Abbey, in London, on March 14, 2022.,Image: 669620830, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: DANIEL LEAL / Avalon
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- Prince Charles processes along the Royal gallery with the Duchess of Cornwall and Prince William during the ceremonial state opening of Parliament which The Queen was unable to attend due to her health.,Image: 690017831, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: RICHARD POHLE / Avalon
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- Buckingham Palace, London, UK. 5 June 2022. Queen Elizabeth II on the balcony of Buckingham Palace with Prince Charles, Prince William, Prince George of Cambridge and Princess Charlotte of Cambridge at the end of a spectacular Platinum Jubilee Pageant on The Mall,Image: 697322082, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: MALCOLM PARK / Avalon
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If they can get used to not seeing them, hopefully, they will start questioning why they must continue to support them.
Agree. In all honesty they’re nowhere near as special as the people and staff at the establishments they do visits to.
Also is it fair to put it on George and his siblings who may not be suited to public roles or the intense scrutiny the sm age brings.
Their peers will most likely have a healthy lack of deference for the rf.
Exactly, of course the business of state has continued, what they do (or don’t do) does not matter!
Other than compassion and concern regarding the dual cancer diagnoses, there has been a collective shrug re: the absence of royals on the scene. Not a good sign for Chuck and Bill and Cathy. And with their obsessive coverage of the Sussexes, the tabloids continue to admit that Harry and Meghan are the true royal stars.
I totally agree. Thé Sussex family do so much good in the world with charities. They are well suited and very much in love. As for Kate her treatment of Meghan, in fact all the royals treated Meghan appallingly. I’m not certain in believe KATE’S video. Karma is a bitch and weird ways.
Charles is king, Khate is a married in commoner. The BM cannot deny that Charles, William and Harry are royal blood by birth. K definitely has no class, her behavior screams commoner bully. Why the major focus on khate and her grifter family, a married in can always be temporary. With so many divorce rumors, unless she manipulates her way into being Queen, her status is questionable.
Queen Mary Tudor kept burning people at the stake up until the end of her cancer journey. Cancer and what the king and Kate are going through on a personal level is rotten and I hope they are coping from that view. On the other hand…if ever there was a time to point out that the royals are as mortal as us peasants and not needed…this is it.
Cancer is never a temporary blimp. There is always a fear of return.
Yes and a bit insensitive to those for whom it’s a whole lot more than a blip
My first thought was the same.. cancer is always a huge diagnosis no matter what the prognosis is. I truthfully hope the public does realize what a waste of money and resources this family is. The government should at the very least renegotiate the amount of money the monarchy hemorrhages every year.
Actually my Doctor explained to me that it would be just a bump in the road and that’s how I dealt with mine. He was right. I’m pretty sure he did it to keep me positive and not to get too negative and so that’s how I got through.
Very glad you did Susan – really like your comments
Honest question from an American- what are the king/queen’s actual constitutional duties? What’s the bare minimum? I feel like the next guy is going to do the absolute least. And I know people have mentioned that getting rid of the monarchy would be difficult (money and stamps reasons? Yet those two are increasingly used less and less) but how much of a problem would it be if they do nothing?
American as well, but I believe the monarch just has to sign things and declare parliament open? They are all woven into the commonwealth as well, I’m guessing to different degrees for different countries.
I believe Charles has always put in a lot of work, but not sure he has to. William could just sign things without reading them…
I really thought that Charles might take steps to end the monarchy but the way he went about his coronation killed that idea.
My only qualification to answer both your questions is being British and having lived here most of my life so take this answer with that in mind.
Yes, it’s essentially rubber stamping things, BUT, to get rid of that and have these things done another way would involve major constitutional changes because the monarch ‘has’ to do them or they’re not considered legit. And no-one has the time or energy for that. If we could just cut their funding and take back all the public land and resources they ‘own’ I’d be happy with that.
Recent monarchs (Liz & Charles) take their roles very seriously so they read their government briefing papers and have their weekly conversations with the prime minister so there’s a soft influence there (potentially but not always) but if the monarch stopped doing all that stuff (William), nothing would change.
There’s also the issue of the royals quietly influencing laws and other decisions (big scandal about a governor general of Australia I believe) more directly but that’s not ‘constitutional’.
(Also american). This has been my question. What do they even do. This seems like a major vulnerability if a monarch is compromised too. At least elected officials were selected by the people in a democracy. If theyre symbolic that would be a great thing to get rid of first. I also read recently that they royals had used their influence to stop or adjust legislation multiple times having to do with adjustments to their take from uk taxpayers and their properties. The red box lets them see certain legislation in order so they can weigh in. As an american this mind boggling to allow- and im well aware our system is in peril too
Thanks @SarahCS! Yes, give the land and most castles back to the people, return the stolen plunder, and in return they can live off their vast wealth and one poor soul has to sign the papers before s/he can go out and play. Sounds good to me!
This is not a crisis. An abdication is a crisis. Huh? No one was even mentioning abdication. But now it’s being referenced. Curious.
Mentioning abdication and the bit about not knowing the line of succession…..why would the line of succession be in doubt? Maybe the person was just exaggerating to make a point, but its still curious like you said.
What does “privacy” look like in this situation? For the King and princess it means different things. He is photographed on the regular. Kate will continue not to be seen by the public I assume, but privacy also means the Rota can talk about her every day, in relation to how she is being supported by the King and her husband… I guess privacy means no one gets to ask any questions.
@Easternviolet The Times on Saturday specifically reported that KP reiterated the desire for privacy. It is understood that as part of her recovery Kate will continue to go about her daily life. The media has been asked not to photograph her as she does so, whether that be dropping the children off at school or attending appointments.
We will see how many “It has come to my attention” and “sources say” stories will get boring for the Rota. I am sure they will find a way to spice things up and either blame the “SussexSquad” or Harry and Meghan.
I’m inclined to believe that both C and K are more ill than they’re letting on, which is understandable. Regarding Charles, the line “we continue to plan for an optimistic outcome” is such a statement of the obvious that it raises a red flag for me. As to Kate, KP released the fake photo, staged the farm shop walk and briefing the rota that she might attend the Easter Service, on William’s orders, whilst he knew about her cancer diagnosis suggests panic and chaos behind the scenes (this goes beyond their normal ineptitude) having to face the reality of her being seriously ill and unable to be seen in public. The lighting set up on her health update video is incredibly bright and they’ve used a filter to slightly blur her face. It’s not AI but there is a level of deception going on.
Something is going on with Kate. I can see her milking the attention but NO grainy videos or far away pictures? That means Kate isn’t going out.
I mean carole/micheal could use the money; you telling me no one has offered alot of money for a definitive photo. That car picture doesn’t count because there is no way to date that. The dm or whoever would want a market picture or something. As the months drag on that’s the only reason I think Kate might actually be ill and not just divorce plotting. Although this could be the ULTIMATE divorce avoidment ploy.
Mads, I just think Billy and Bone Idle want total privacy. For the most part, they already have it. There’s just a picture (Billy out drinking with his Buds) that gets out once in a blue moon. I think this is part of their future strategy. They will work as little as possible and disappear whenever and for however long they want to.
What they found out is that the total privacy thing isn’t going to work well under certain circumstances. If KP had never come up with the surgery statement, they could have gone for 6 weeks and then come up with a reason for Bone Idle’s seclusion.
I’ve always maintained that she could be gone and in time forgotten. I suspect this is true with most of them. They have to have someone at the top that will be seen. KFC is smart enough to know that.
I wish someone would say Kate’s doctors are ‘optimistic’, that would be reassuring. I hope kp is just playing games with keeping everything secret.
I hope so too. I don’t like Kate but I have said she looks ill for at least 3 years. I wasn’t being mean. I thought she looked ill and I was hoping she would go to a hospital. It could be ED it could be anything. Kate looks VASTLY different in person. They airbrush her to appear fatter. Once I realize that I became concerned. Many people have stated why won’t William step in.
Yourself Sum and others on this sub are really observant.
I hadn’t been paying the rf much attention till these recent dramas (for want of a better word)
I hadn’t realised Kate had gotten so thin and when I look back on older posts here everyone was right
She’s battled an ED for years imo, particularly the last couple. My first assumption on hearing about the emergency dash to surgery was complication with her digestive tract or similar.
Well, yeah. In the timeline of the monarchy, Charles and Kate themselves are a “temporary blip.” It’s literally, “The King is dead, long live the King,” and one royal is pretty much the same as any other – I think that’s reflected in the attitudes of the people.
As for why they’re going bananas at the palace – maybe it’s because they aren’t taking the long view and it’s personal? For Charles and Camilla and his staff, “The King is dead” actually means something. The same for William – it seems “Long live the King” is terrifying to him.
“As for why they’re going bananas at the palace – maybe it’s because they aren’t taking the long view and it’s personal?”
—Because, for the courtiers, a change in regime means the end of their positions.
Or, at the least, having to work with new bosses. PW may not be someone anybody wants to work with.
Exactly, for the staff and the courtiers and all the hangers-on who depend on a particular royal, this is serious business. The same for the press – those aligned with Charles and BP, those in Camilla’s circle, those who are fed by William – it’s a big shift. For the rest of the planet, not so much.
The crisis here is that the Prince of Wales refuses to step up and do his duty. That should be the story but with the British media, who have infantilized and coddled both Kate and William for years, it’s not.
Bingo!
This is exactly right, Sue.
I don’t think the monarchy is at all necessary — and in fact, it’s utterly useless — but if the English royals want to keep this grift going, William is going to need to step up. But he can’t because he’s inept. Hence the panic.
@BECKS1 I also thought she looked scared in the video. She was choking before saying ‘…I’m going to be ok.’ Either she knows most likely she’s not going to be ok, either she realizes ppl are trying to hide it from her. Ppl think the video is AI, I think is too heavily filtered to hide how she really looks. I’m in the minority who thinks it was also Kate by the farm market. Rail-thin, highly pumped up on steroids and vitamines for a last walk before presumingly getting riddled with chemo or whatever for weeks. It’s a really sad situation and William still doesn’t seem able to cope with it adequately.
Just a feeling, but I think Kate’s cancer is more serious than Charles’ cancer. The biggest issue for Charles is age and the toll of treatment – if he were twenty or even ten years younger the conversation would be different.
Charles looks ghastly. I’m still not sure we really know what Kate looks like
Frail. She looks like a strong wind could snap her in two. Side note, that video was just more proof that the staged Mother’s Day pic was not recent. The press made the right call to kill it.
I also think Kate’s is more serious and I think that explains some of the panicking we’re seeing. Lets look back to William’s first appearances after Kate’s surgery – we all said he seemed off, he seemed like he had lost weight, etc. According to KP’s timeline at that point they didn’t know it was cancer but I feel pretty confident saying that’s a lie, and that W&K knew it was cancer by that point. She looked frail in that video but I think she also looked scared.
William’s behavior makes a lot more sense if Kate’s cancer is pretty advanced and the prognosis is not good. It also makes sense about telling the kids and the whole “in a way that is appropriate for them” line. It would explain the delay in announcing it – if you’re grappling with a diagnosis of advanced cancer at age 42, I imagine it would take some time to come to terms with that and to want time with your family before telling the entire world. It also explains William wanting to take time off as well – yes he’s lazy, but the diagnosis also likely shocked him.
It’s really sad if its true, but as I’m going through these posts today, I keep saying “if you consider X then it fits” and I think this is another example. some of these things just make more sense if she is a lot sicker than they are telling people.
Considering that literally 100% of what KP says is actually the opposite, then the weird undertone of panic becomes crystal clear. Why even put this story out there? ‘Just want to let everyone know there is no reason to panic! We aren’t panicked! It’s just a blip!’ Yikes.
More like a temporary blip on the descent to irrelevance.
And why would abdication be a crisis? The line of succession is always clear and has been for hundreds of years.
They should be worried about the general passive tolerance for Gaiety Girl as a “lead” because it just how much the public don’t give a damn. No one likes or respects her, she has no qualifications or hereditary right to the role. She literally slept her way to the top. There’s no pushback because no one cares.
Having cancer is not a temporary blip and the fact that the Palace was not forthcoming with the Queen’s illness means that the public is warranted in not believing anything that comes out of the Palace.
Right! They seem to be very casual with mentioning the late queen’s cancer now, but at the time they didn’t say a word, just said she had mobility issues.
I fear this will cause the RR to attack H&M even more.
The royals have to be seen to be believed, right? So no King no Princess of Wales equals no interest for the public. I don’t think that KP gets that. I think they are thinking, “sweet! We can keep doing f-all and no one can say anything because cancer! Time for vacation!” They are deluded enough to think that simply existing is enough. “All we have to do is show our faces and the public is ours.” That’s what Alexandra Federovna told her grandmother Queen Victoria when the queen warned her that she and Nicholas were neglecting their public duties. I see the same KP complacency here. Only catastrophe will shake them (thankfully there’s no risk of a Romanov outcome).
But what will the ratchets do with nothing to do? The Sussexes are locked down tight. And the Frankenphoto mess really clued the general public on how often KP throws Harry and Meghan under the bus. That might play in the UK for a while longer, but for how long? If the tories are voted out, I think there will be a huge push to de-emphasize the royals–cut their grants drastically. Fewer tours, if any. It’s possible that the only royal action will be in California, which the ratchets will desperately try to claim, even though they will have no access at all. Couldn’t happen to a more deserving group of people.
What if BOTH Charles and Kate have a bad/terminal prognosis? If the slimmed down monarchy is feeling threadbare now, just imagine. That might account for some of the panic alternating with denial. Would king William swallow his hatred to keep dowager queen Camilla a working royal? Would Camilla even consider it? It’ll be at least a decade until the Wales kids can take any of the workload. His cousins have young kids and lives of their own. Ed and Sophie have at least another decade of work in them and Anne might consider it, but William doesn’t have the managerial competence to completely restructure royal operations in the way that’d require. I wonder if some of the the rage toward Harry is due to the realization that he needs Harry but Harry doesn’t need him so he’s powerless.
Interesting question. Camilla wouldn’t be a threat to King William, so I imagine his laziness would supercede his hatred. But I don’t know if Dowager Camilla would want to be a working royal for William. There’s always Beatrice, I suppose…and, of course, Edward and Sophie.
Maybe will is (and had been) threatening to abdicate if he doesnt get his way, hence this jab in the article
Camilla could be an efficient working royal, as she’s proven only by seating on the throne today after decades of being an outcast for BRF and the public. Maybe I’m wrong, but I don’t see her in an official ‘dowager’ position, or caring for it. She looks far more invested in Charles himself or her og family, than royal life or Charles’ offspring. It looks to me she’d accept whatever William decides, as long as she keeps the house and her status of living. I guess William would still invite her to major events, protocol-wise. She’d keep some patronages and cut ribbons from time to time. She’d still feed some gossip to the press from time to time, I guess . But by all accounts even now she’d rather spend her time by herself at her own place, with her kids and dogs.
It is bad because William is lazy. If he stepped up his work significantly this crisis would not have happened.