By royal biographer Emily Andrews
WHAT IS REALLY GOING ON WITH KATE?
The Princess of Wales is exceptional at putting on a brave face and always wants to avoid ‘making a fuss’.
Even when the Palace announced that she had undergone abdominal surgery (an operation necessitating up to two weeks in hospital and keeping her from work until after Easter) just days after her 42nd birthday, she apologised ‘to all those concerned for the fact that she has to postpone her upcoming engagements’ and stressed that she ‘looked forward to reinstating as many as possible, as soon as possible.’
As ever, her thoughts are with others even when the subject is herself.
Unlike King Charles, who was very specific about the ‘corrective procedure’ he needed last week for an enlarged prostate, Kensington Palace gave no details of Kate’s surgery or ailments.
The King made his diagnosis public in order to encourage more men to check their prostates – 12,000 men die from prostate cancer every year – with his aides emphasising that his condition was benign and that he would be back at work ‘after a short recuperation’.
Historically, the royals have kept medical matters as private as possible.
Kate also addressed this in what was, by royal standards, quite a long statement:
‘She hopes that the public will understand her desire to maintain as much normality for her children as possible; and her wish that her personal medical information remains private.’
William also cancelled his public engagements for the foreseeable future in order to visit his wife in hospital and be on hand for their children, Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, eight, and five-year-old Prince Louis.
It leaves the slimmed-down Firm badly stretched – with the loss of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Duke of York, and the late Queen Elizabeth, there is only the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, Princess Anne and Queen Camilla to hold the royal fort.
Any hopes that 2024 would be a period of stability for the fledgling Carolean era, after the death of our longest-serving monarch, the drama of Harry’s incendiary autobiography, Spare, and organising the first coronation for 70 years, seem short-lived.
Health issues for two of the major players – plus the
