Prince William calls 2024 the 'hardest year' amid cancer diagnoses of Princess Kate, King Charles
Prince William described 2024 as the "hardest year" of his life as it saw the respective cancer diagnoses of his wife, Princess Kate Middleton, and his father, King Charles.
PEOPLE Magazine reported that William held a remarkably personal interview on Nov. 7, a day after he visited Cape Town in South Africa for the fourth iteration of the Earthshot Prize Awards, his environmental initiative in which five winners are chosen from a group of 15 finalists to receive $1.3 million (P75.9 million) and a chance to bring their idea to improve the planet to fruition.
“It's been dreadful," he said of the year. “So, trying to get through everything else and keep everything on track has been really difficult."
William expressed pride in how Kate and Charles dealt with their respective conditions.
“I'm so proud of my wife, I'm proud of my father, for handling the things that they have done," he said.
Still, he called the situation "brutal."
Asked how Kate was doing, he said she's "doing well," as she had announced on Sept. 9 that she had completed chemotherapy.
When told that he looked relaxed, William responded, “I couldn’t be less relaxed this year, so it’s very interesting you’re all seeing that.”
“But it’s more a case of just crack on and you’ve got to keep going,” he added. “I enjoy my work and I enjoy pacing myself and keeping sure that I have got time for my family, too.”
On March 23, Kate announced that she was diagnosed with cancer, which finally addressed weeks of speculations and numerous conspiracy theories about her state.
When she underwent abdominal surgery in January, she took a break from public duty to continue her recovery and hasn't appeared in a public event since December 2023.
Kate didn’t disclose her condition to the public at the time, though a source told NBC News that it was non-cancerous.
Tests after her surgery, however, showed that cancer had been present.
On Feb. 5, Buckingham Palace announced that Charles had been diagnosed with cancer and had begun treatment at the time. He had undergone a hospital procedure in January due to his benign prostate enlargement, and the palace said "a separate issue of concern was noted."
"Subsequent diagnostic tests have identified a form of cancer," the palace said in a statement, without elaborating on the type of cancer found or how advanced it was.
On April 30, Charles made his first official public appearance since his cancer diagnosis.
