Prince William is expected to step up as his father, King Charles III, is recuperating following prostate surgery and resting amid his cancer treatment. A royal correspondent said that while this is a given being he is next in line to the throne, it is also a scary prospect because at the moment the Prince of Wales just wants to take care of his wife, Kate Middleton.
Jennie Bond, who worked as BBC's royal correspondent for 14 years, said that the 41-year-old will "be feeling very serious about life" amid this challenging time for the working royals. She told OK! that "this is not a time in which he wanted to take on extra responsibilities".
She said. "It's not a time when he wanted really to contemplate the fact that one day in the very foreseeable future he is going to be a monarch. This is a time in his life where we know when he just wants to be a hands on dad and a very supportive husband."
Bond thinks that the Prince of Wales will "feel somewhat besieged by his wife being ill and now his father having cancer". She also finds it "a scary time" for the prince given that he has already lost one parent.
She added: "He's already lost his mother, and I think that gives you a vulnerability with any illness with a parent when you've already lost one, so I really feel for William in this."
Bond also talked about the timing of King Charles III's cancer announcement, saying it was "carefully" timed with the news that Prince William would be back to carrying out royal engagements.
She explained: "The announcement was all very carefully choreographed that William was taking up duties again - that was deliberately put out before the cancer diagnosis. The palace have carefully managed the news as much as they can, but nevertheless, it's incredibly dramatic."
The journalist then looked back on how Buckingham Palace smoothly transitioned King Charles III to become the new monarch, before Queen Elizabeth II died, by having him take on more roles while his mother rested in Sandringham amid her weakened health.
"With a smooth transition from one reign to the other and seemingly in smooth, calm waters, it's all become ruffled again. That's unsettling for all concerned," she shared.
Bond continued: "But I do think that we should take our lead from the King and the Queen and from all the positive vibes coming out of the palace that the cancer has been caught early and that the King is feeling wholly optimistic.
"As difficult as it is, something else I'd be saying is that it could be a blessing, two blessings, in disguise - one that during a procedure for a benign condition, a cancer has been found and is already being treated, and secondly, that this is bringing his 'darling boy' across the sea for what we hope will be a reconciliation."
News of King Charles III's cancer diagnosis stirred concerns about the monarchy and questions over Prince William's future. Some wondered if the monarch will abdicate early in his reign, as Nostradamus has predicted, and let the Prince of Wales take over the throne.
Wishing King Charles a speedy recovery, I wouldn’t wish cancer on anyone! 💔
— Kayla Adams (@KaylaAdams___) February 5, 2024
Also thinking of Prince William, it can’t be easy having his wife, The Princess of Wales, recovering from major abdominal surgery, his dad having a prostrate procedure & now cancer as well pic.twitter.com/LXlM9t2yrW
"After Buckingham Palace announced King Charles was suffering from cancer, the Nation felt the same sense of dread [...] This is a potential constitutional crisis that is going to place an immense burden on Prince William".
— Canellecitadelle (@Canellelabelle) February 7, 2024
wrote A.N. Wilson.
And here lies the deeper… pic.twitter.com/skfSwrGFIK
King Charles has his loyal son Prince William to get him through his cancer treatment. All of William’s mentoring from Queen Elizabeth II has him well prepared to handle the Monarchy while his father recovers ❤️🩹 pic.twitter.com/wcA5748AJT
— The British Prince (@Freedom16356531) February 5, 2024
Buckingham Palace has not addressed this foreseeable future. Instead, it was simply announced that King Charles III remains positive about his treatment. As for Prince William, he is balancing his time between taking care of Kate Middleton, their children, and performing his royal duties.
He cancelled some of his scheduled engagements to be there for his wife in the early days of her recovery from abdominal surgery. He returned briefly to public duties on Jan. 7 to host an investiture ceremony on behalf of King Charles III and attend London's Air Ambulance Charity gala. He will resume with his engagements after he and Kate Middleton spend their their children's half-term break from school in Sandringham.
