But for Britain’s royal family, that may be the least of its problems.
Two family members have cancer. One just died. Meanwhile, Prince Andrew is back in the limelight and Prince Harry’s relationship with his brother remains uncertain.
These are just a handful of challenges the British royals face today. It is “possibly the worst start to the year” the family has experienced in decades, royal commentator Jack Royston, told Business Insider.
And things are likely to get worse unless a drastic change is made, according to Royston and Kristen Meinzer, a royal expert and podcast host.
As Charles and Kate step back from duties, the monarchy is missing some of its key players. And with no leader in sight, Prince Andrew returned to the fold at a memorial service for Greece’s King Constantine on Tuesday, sparking speculation over his future position within the monarchy.
It’s a PR nightmare, experts say.
Two months of family tragedies
In January, Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York announced she had been diagnosed with skin cancer after previously recovering from breast cancer.
It was promptly followed by news that King Charles had been diagnosed with cancer on February 5 following a hospital procedure for an enlarged prostate in January.
The details of Charles’ condition and the type of cancer weren’t disclosed.
In a statement issued by Buckingham Palace, a spokesperson for the monarch said he was “positive about his treatment” and that he looked forward to “returning to full public duty as soon as possible.”
He was photographed a handful of times in the weeks following, including at an in-person meeting with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at Buckingham Palace on February 21. The king told Sunak that the messages of support he had received had “reduced me to tears,” BBC News reported.
“For people who want to rant and rave about Harry and Meghan, this is significantly worse than the Oprah interview and ‘Spare,'” Royston said, referencing the title of Prince Harry’s 2023 memoir.
“Nothing puts things in perspective more than the word cancer,” he added.
Harry flew to the UK to see Charles shortly after the news of his cancer broke, prompting commentators to question if he would return to the royal fold. Speaking to GMA, Harry said he was “grateful” that he got to see his father and he could “absolutely” imagine the circumstances around the king’s health bringing them closer together.
But even so, Harry’s future visits are uncertain. Multiple outlets reported on Thursday that he lost his appeal against the government’s decision to downgrade his police protection while in the UK, which he lost when he resigned from royal duties.
There have been other tragedies, too. Most recently, on February 27, it was announced that Lady Gabriella’s husband, Thomas Kingston, had died suddenly at the age of 45.
Gabriella — second cousin to King Charles — and Kingston tied the knot at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor.
A palace spokesperson said in a statement that the king and queen had been informed and that they joined “all those who knew him in grieving a much-loved member of the family.”
Kate’s absence marks a shift in the royal PR strategy
The king’s hospital stay in January took place at around the same Kate was being treated for a planned abdominal surgery.
On January 17, Kensington Palace announced that Kate would remain in hospital for between 10 and 14 days after the surgery before continuing her recovery at home. They added that she would unlikely return to public duties before Easter, which falls at the end of March.
While Charles showed the public he was doing well after his diagnosis, Middleton took a different approach. As BI previously reported, she hasn’t been seen in public since Christmas Day.
The royal’s absence sparked conspiracy theories and speculation about her whereabouts on social media.
Royal commentator Meinzer told BI that it’s unusual for Kate to stay out of the public eye for so long, especially as she has been transparent about her health in the past.
When Kate was pregnant, she was open about her experience with hyperemesis gravidum — a condition that causes severe sickness — and she took photos for the press outside the hospital after giving birth to all three of her children.
“Charles’ camp has been far more transparent than William and Kate’s. Nobody is wondering about Charles, because they followed the number one rule of PR, which is to get ahead of the story,” Meinzer said.
“Charles’ statements haven’t been 100% transparent, but transparent enough — using words like ‘cancer’ instead of ‘abdominal procedure,'” she said, adding that the vague language around the princess’ condition has only heightened speculation.
Meanwhile, Royston said the palace’s refusal to release a photo of Kate is a shift from its previous strategy.
“The weird thing is, the palace could make it all go away with one single photo of Kate, but they seem to not want to do that,” Royston said.
Royston suggested that the palace could release a new photo of Kate through one of the charities she supports, or alternatively, something more laid back — a selfie or a photo taken by William — could be released through the couple’s social media channels.
A Kensington Palace spokesperson told BI on Thursday that the princess is “doing well.”
“As we have been clear since our initial statement in January, we shall not be providing a running commentary or providing daily updates,” they said.
Prince Andrew is back in the limelight
In Kate’s absence, a disgraced royal has taken back the limelight.
Prince Andrew, who resigned from royal duties in 2019, and Sarah Ferguson were photographed at a memorial service for the late King Constantine of Greece on Tuesday.
Kate and King Charles were absent from the ceremony. Though William was originally intended to give a reading at the event, he later pulled out due to “personal reasons,” The Telegraph reported.
Several publications published photos of Andrew and Ferguson smiling and walking front and center into the church.
“Prince Andrew leads the Royal reserves,” the Daily Mail wrote, alongside photos of the pair walking ahead of other non-senior family members.
“Prince Andrew leads royals,” The Independent wrote.
“Why are these two leading the family parade suddenly?” Meinzer said. “It just makes no sense.”
Royal commentator Victoria Arbiter previously told BI that while Prince Andrew’s public life is over, he will still be able to attend private family events.
But there’s no denying that the prince’s latest appearance seems more significant because it correlated with the king, Kate, and Prince William’s absences.
And with the upcoming release of “Scoop,” a Netflix film about Andrew’s disastrous “Newsnight” interview in 2019, any future appearances he makes with the royals are likely to gain more traction.
While Camilla was in attendance at the event, she was pictured arriving separately. Meinzer said it would have looked better from a PR standpoint if she had been photographed leading the charge instead of Andrew. Meanwhile, Royston suggested that William is still regarded as more of a leader than Camilla because of his position in the line of succession.
A lack of leadership is not a good look, according to Meinzer, who said Andrew’s appearance and Kate’s absence “does not install faith in the monarchy.”
“If look at the number of conspiracy theories out there about Kate, if you look at the complete disgust that the public has with Andrew, the public does not have faith in this institution right now, and they don’t find it to be a respectable institution in the slightest,” Meinzer said.
“There needs to be a big change, or things are just going to get worse.”
Buckingham Palace declined to comment.
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