Jeremy Hunt has said he found the Princess of Wales’ video announcing her cancer diagnosis “incredibly moving”, following his family’s own tragic experiences of the disease.
Mr Hunt’s brother, Charlie Hunt, died last August at the age of 53, after a battle with cancer.
Mr Hunt also lost both his parents to cancer, Royal Navy admiral Sir Nicholas Hunt dying in 2013 at 82 while Lady Meriel Hunt died in 2022, aged 84.
The Chancellor has also himself previously been diagnosed with skin cancer, which was caught early and was not life-threatening.
Speaking to Sky News’ Trevor Phillips on Sunday, the Chancellor of the Exchequer said he was “touched like everyone else was”, watching the Princess of Wales’ emotional video on Friday in which she revealed she is being treated for cancer.
“And I think the thing that really caught me to the quick was when she explained the hardest thing of all for people who’ve had cancer in their family, which is how you tell your kids, and that’s obviously been a huge thing for her and for the Prince of Wales,” Mr Hunt told Sky News.
“I know in my own family when my brother had cancer, that was the most difficult thing.
“I think when she said that, she just connected with everyone and we all felt yes, it’s the Royal family, but in some ways, they’re like every other family and they’re going through the same horrible things that sadly, we all have to go through from time to time.”
Mr Hunt’s brother Charlie was diagnosed with sarcoma – an aggressive, rare cancer which usually begins in the bones or soft tissue – in 2020. He died in 2023.
The Chancellor, and former Health Secretary, previously told the Daily Mail he was “blessed” as his own cancer was “caught relatively early” after he discovered a mole on his head”
He said: “My treatment was superb, but I know more and more of us are getting cancer so that’s why we need to continue to invest more.
“One of the things we need to focus on is early diagnosis because if you pick up cancers early, it’s much more likely that you’ll completely cure someone.”
Mr Hunt ran charity Cancer Research UK’s 5km Race for Life in 2022.
