Many are probably aware that Charles III, the King of the United Kingdom, was diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer following a procedure for an enlarged prostate. (The palace has confirmed that it is not in fact prostate cancer.) Over the past few weeks, I have both seen on social media, and actually had several people say to me, “wouldn’t it be better to have William and Kate anyways?” And those reactions surprise me for several reasons: First, above all else, King Charles is a human who is probably as nervous as any other person who has gotten cancer. Second, he is the only remaining parent of both of his sons, who I am sure are not at all ready to lose their father. And finally, for all of those who think things would be better with William and Kate, they are probably not at all wanting to or ready to become King and Queen. First and foremost, they have a young family with three elementary aged kids. They are very involved parents taking their kids to and from school, always going to their sporting events, etc. The Prince and Princess of Wales have ALWAYS put a huge emphasis on their family first, and once they are King and Queen, their ability to be as hands on will be greatly diminished. My guess is that for those reasons and more, the Waleses are hoping the day the ascend the throne is in the rather distant future.
To add to that, in interviews I have watched of Royal family members over the years, I think they have a very different feeling about ascending the throne than someone who is fascinated by the monarchy might think they do. For instance, when King Charles met the then Prime Minister Liz Truss for the first time as King, he said to her in greeting that the moment he has been dreading was finally here. And could you blame him? His mother had just died. There was not private time to mourn, instead, he had an insurmountable amount of work heaped upon him.
In another interview with Princess Anne, she was asked about how her mother celebrated her long reign and the anniversary of her ascension day (which was February 6th). Princess Anne replied that we must remember that the only reason Queen Elizabeth had such a long reign was because her father died so young. She further explained that while people might look at February 6th as a celebratory day for the Queen, it was in fact the anniversary of her beloved Father’s death. The fact that the Queen spent that day every year at Sandringham, where her father died, can lead us to believe that she most likely spent the day remembering him rather than celebrating herself.
And finally, when questioned about his thoughts on becoming King, Prince William has said that he does’t give it a lot of thought and that he certainly doesn’t sit around waiting to become King. Because again, the day he becomes King will be the day his father passes away and how many of us sit around waiting for the loss of a parent? I would hope none!
Of course, The Prince and Princess of Wales are incredibly popular, glamorous and loved by millions around the world, but I think we forget to remember that they are in fact part of a family of people. What I strive to do so much in my study of history is to remember that the people I read about and study were/are in fact people, just like myself. And one day, this will be a situation that is written into history, and I hope when royal fans look back on it, they will look at this situation with the most complete picture possible rather than just that people were waiting for the more popular option. (Rather heartless!)
What are your thoughts on this situation? Please share in the comments!
PS.
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The commentary around his diagnosis is so callous, I've seen so many people making cruel remarks online. He's a human being, and he seems like a pretty decent one by all accounts (except Harry's, obviously😉). I for one hope he gets well soon