As King Charles undergoes treatment for an undisclosed type of cancer (undisclosed to the public, anyway), his prognosis seems to be positive from all accounts heard heretofore. That said, the diagnosis of cancer at all is jarring, and, at 73 years old in September 2022, Charles already had a much later start at beginning his reign than his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth, who took the throne at the tender age of 25 years old.
Charles had perhaps the world’s longest apprenticeship, sitting in the second in command position for nearly 74 years—the longest-serving Prince of Wales of all time. Unless Charles somehow turns into Superman, even in perfect health he won’t enjoy the 70-year reign his mother did. (If Charles celebrated a Platinum Jubilee—marking 70 years on the throne, as Her late Majesty did in June 2022—he would be 143 years old.) Prince William always knew he wouldn’t get 73 years to prepare to become king after becoming Prince of Wales, but his father’s health news no doubt made him wonder if the prospect of taking the throne might happen far sooner than he’d anticipated.
Both the Prince and Princess of Wales feel “intense anxiety” at becoming King and Queen amid Charles’ cancer journey, royal author Tina Brown said, per The Mirror. (Unfortunately, Kate, too, is battling cancer, announcing her diagnosis publicly on March 22; like her father-in-law, the specific type and stage of the cancer has not been disclosed to the public.)
“News of Charles’ cancer has put William and Catherine in frightening proximity to ascending the throne,” she wrote in The New York Times. “The prospect of it, I am told, is causing them intense anxiety.”
As Charles continues to undergo treatment—and reportedly plans for a royal visit to Australia later this year—“Some believe, however, that if Charles and Kate were to be permanently sidelined, forced into greatly reduced roles for the longer term by ongoing health challenges, a Prince William regency would look desperately shorthanded,” said Tom Sykes, royal correspondent for The Daily Beast. “Officials are as busy as ever. There is no question of decisions being taken by anyone other than the King.”
