King Charles’ decades-long wait to become king finally ended in 2022 after the passing of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II. Of course, his first year as monarch didn’t turn out the way anyone wanted. Charles received a cancer diagnosis in February of 2023, and still to this day he is contending with the treatment.
That has forced Prince William to step in for the king on several occasions in recent months, giving him a taste of what is to come when he eventually ascends the throne.
Sadly, it’s said that Charles and William’s relationship has changed slightly because of this. And now it appears as if the king has had a plan for William all along – as there is one thing he doesn’t want to happen again.
The Royal Family has experienced one of the most challenging years in decades. On February 5, 2023, Buckingham Palace announced that King Charles had been diagnosed with an unspecified form of cancer. Just one month later, Kate Middleton revealed she had also been diagnosed with the disease.
“The King is grateful to his medical team for their swift intervention, which was made possible thanks to his recent hospital procedure. He remains wholly positive about his treatment and looks forward to returning to full public duty as soon as possible,” the statement from Buckingham Palace read.
“His Majesty has chosen to share his diagnosis to prevent speculation and in the hope it may assist public understanding for all those around the world who are affected by cancer.”
Charles’ decision to reveal his cancer diagnosis could actually have saved lives. As reported by the Associated Press at the time, Cancer Research UK recorded a 33% increase in visits to its website as people searched for information regarding the signs and symptoms of cancer.
King Charles paused his cancer treatment for Australia-Samoa trip in October
“I would like to express my most heartfelt thanks for the many messages of support and good wishes I have received in recent days,” King Charles said some days after the first statement on his health.
“As all those who have been affected by cancer will know, such kind thoughts are the greatest comfort and encouragement.”
“It is equally heartening to hear how sharing my own diagnosis has helped promote public understanding and shine a light on the work of all those organizations which support cancer patients and their families across the UK and wider world,” Charles added. “My lifelong admiration for their tireless care and dedication is all the greater as a result of my own personal experience.”
Charles naturally took a step back from his royal duties while he received treatment for his cancer. Buckingham Palace has not provided any information about what sort of cancer he has, nor have they been overly forthcoming with details regarding his condition.
Questions about Charles remaining fit to be king because of his cancer – especially as he’s not getting younger – have been raised in the last year. Still, the king has continued to fulfill many of his duties, and in late October, he and Queen Camilla traveled to Australia and Samoa. The Australia-Samoa trip was a big test for King Charles’s health.
The Daily Mail even reported that Charles paused his cancer treatment during the state visits. The newspaper suggested that he was to continue with his ongoing cancer schedule right up until takeoff, but that his doctors were “happy for it to be briefly stopped while he is away.”
“The fortnight in the run up to the royal tour has been kept deliberately light for His Majesty. He will still be undertaking meetings, doing his paperwork and still come down for treatment,” a source told the Daily Mail in October.
King Charles’ emotional words on his cancer in Christmas speech
“Australia is a big deal and he wants to be fighting fit. As soon as he returns he is also straight into a really intense programme all the way up to Christmas.”
Charles’s ability to pause his cancer treatment briefly was a great sign that he was doing well. According to royal expert Jennie Bond, the king braced himself for “testing.”
“Charles is 75, he is not a young man by any means,” Bond told GB News. “He has been on the world scene for decades. His shoulders are broad and his mind is attuned to everything going on around the world. He is making a great job of it. I just hope he can continue to do so and get through this treatment.”
The king naturally had his doctors with him on the Australia-Samoa trip, but they wouldn’t only be present due to his fight with cancer.
Charles has been expected to continue his cancer treatment in 2025. In recent months he has continued to perform his royal duties, and it has been quite some time since the last update.
In his Christmas speech, the king touched on the subject. The monarch said: “I am deeply grateful, too, to all those who have offered us their own kind words of sympathy and encouragement.”
King Charles & Princ William’s dynamic have “shifted,” source says
Some have argued that Charles should abdicate and let Prince William take over the throne. Sadly, according to US Weekly, the question has reached the royals and drastically “shifted” the dynamic between Charles and his eldest son. Palace sources told the US news outlet that there have been many tensions in their relationship.
“The dynamics have shifted,” an insider told the outlet. Another source said Charles “has wanted to be the monarch for decades.”
The second source added: “Even though he’s battling cancer, he’s not letting that get in the way of his desire to be successful on the throne or a dynamic leader.
Prince William has – just like King Charles did – prepared “for when his ascension happens.”
“Like his father, he takes being a success in the royal role very seriously,” the insider said.
Sadly, it is a “sensitive” topic of conversation within the FIrm.
“There’s occasional tension,” the source continued, adding that William is likely in talks about transitioning titles and responsibilities. Also, the prince is talking with the UK government to ensure “a smooth transition.”
Royal aides began drawing up the plans for Prince William’s ascension after King Charles’ coronation. However, when the king received his cancer diagnosis, those plans were fast-tracked.
“The palace sprung into action. William and his team have agreed on what they will focus on at the start of his reign and funeral plans for his father,” the source concluded. “For the most part, Charles is doing well. However, there are “some concerns, and he knows his reign will be up soon.”
“He’s a lot weaker and tires easily”
Charles has waited his entire life to take the throne; understandably, he doesn’t want to abdicate. A royal insider told Woman’s Day that he “came to terms” with the fact that he would have a short-lived reign years ago.
“He’s a lot weaker and tires easily, and doctors are begging him to slow down,” the source said, adding that in private, King Charles knows he is limited by his health issues and struggling over whether it’s noble or not to abdicate.
“Charles will have been told worst and best case scenarios in terms of his health, but it’s clear some of his royal priorities have had to be sidelined.”
The source continued by saying that while Charles is reluctant to give William, his son, too much power and space, he has held private meetings with him to discuss the future.
“As devastating as it’s been, he’s had to step away from some of his plans or leave them to William. He has no choice,” the source said. “Cancer has changed him, made him reassess what’s important, and there’s no one he’d rather spend his time with than Camilla. Stepping aside could be what gives him more time with her.”
It’s becoming more apparent that the Prince of Wales is being prepared for life as monarch, and sadly, another royal expert now claims that Charles has to accept his fate. Speaking to People Magazine, royal commentator Sally Bedell Smith claimed that Charles has to “accept limitations” during his cancer treatment. At the same time, William and Kate Middleton “have been preparing for their future roles” much sooner than expected.
“Although the King is carrying out his duties with typical determination, he has had to accept limitations during his cancer treatment,” Bedell Smith said. “As a result, William has been taking on more responsibilities, and he and Kate have been preparing for their future roles sooner than they would have expected.”
King Charles new plan for William revealed
A palace source told GB News that within the Palace walls “there is a sense of calm before the storm.”
“They are next in line for the biggest job of their lives, and of course, Kate’s health has taken priority, but it’s also allowed everyone to take a step back and figure out what’s important right now,” the source said.
It’s safe to say that King Charles won’t want to abdicate, and who can blame him? Even though he surely knows that his son will do fantastically as monarch, Charles will most likely not step down while he still breathes.
Still, when crowned the Prince of Wales, he was installed through a ceremony similar to the coronation, however much smaller. King Charles’ installment as the Prince of Wales was highly controversial. Therefore, according to Welsh journalist Huw Thomas, author of Charles: the King and Wales, the hostile experience when Charles was installed as Prince of Wales led to him him deciding that William wouldn’t face the same ceremony.
“It was known that [Charles] didn’t enjoy that experience, it was known that he felt he was being used in this big political, theatrical moment,” he told The Sun’s Royal Exclusive show, adding that Charles had “[made] it known over the years” that he didn’t “want that to happen again.”
“So even though Charles created Prince William as Prince of Wales within 24 hours of becoming King, it was within a couple of months known, ‘actually, don’t expect any kind of ceremony – not even a small thing in an office in Cardiff,'” he continued. “There doesn’t need to be one.”
“The monarchy is built on tradition”
Still, though Prince William wasn’t formally ‘installed’ as the Prince of Wales, that doesn’t mean the title will disappear. In the future, when William takes the throne, Prince George is expected to take his old title.
“I’d be stunned if [the title] disappeared, only because the monarchy is built on tradition,” Thomas said. “History tells us [the royals] stick to tradition … I’d be surprised if, in the future, William thought, ‘No, I’m going to ditch this one’”.
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