As of: March 28, 2024, 10:30 a.m
By: Annemarie Göbbel
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When the British royal family was in a health crisis, they often fought alone against their suffering and “showed strength”. It must be a relief that things are different today.
1 / 9Princess Kate's absence after abdominal surgery had sparked speculation around the world. In a personal video posted to Instagram on March 22, the Princess of Wales revealed that she is undergoing cancer treatment. "In January I had major abdominal surgery in London and at the time they thought my condition was not cancerous." , began the 42-year-old. “The operation was successful. However, post-surgery tests revealed that there was cancer. My medical team therefore advised me to undergo preventative chemotherapy and I am now in the early stages of this treatment." The mother of three also revealed that she needed time for both herself and her children to break the news to process. “This was of course a huge shock and William and I have done everything we can to process and deal with the matter privately for the benefit of our young family. As you can imagine, this took some time.” © IMAGO / Newscom / EyePress
2 / 9Just over a month before Kate revealed her diagnosis, the palace announced that King Charles had been diagnosed with an unknown type of cancer. “During the King's recent hospital procedure for benign prostate enlargement, a different problem was discovered. Subsequent diagnostic tests have identified a form of cancer,” Buckingham Palace wrote in a statement released on February 5. “His Majesty began a regular treatment plan today. During this time, he was advised by doctors to postpone public duties. During this period, His Majesty will continue to conduct state business and official formalities as usual,” it added. © Yui Mok/dpa
3 / 9Also in January 2024, Sarah “Fergie” Ferguson announced that she had been diagnosed with skin cancer, just weeks after sharing that she had beaten breast cancer again a few weeks earlier. “After being diagnosed with an early form of breast cancer in This summer, Sarah, Duchess of York, has now been diagnosed with malignant melanoma," said a spokesman for the 64-year-old. "The Duchess would like to thank the entire medical team who supported her, especially her dermatologist, whose vigilance ensured this “The disease was detected in a timely manner,” the representative added. © Kirsty O'connorf/dpa
4 / 9In her 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, Meghan Markle revealed that her difficulties adjusting to life in the royal family caused her to struggle with her mental health and experience severe depression. “I have "I was ashamed to say it at the time, and I was ashamed to have to admit it to Harry."And that's what I think is so important, for people to remember that you have no idea what's going on with someone behind closed doors is going. I have no idea,” she added later in the interview. “Even the people who smile and shine the brightest. You have to have compassion for what might actually be going on.” © Evan Agostini/dpa
5 / 9When Queen Elizabeth died in 2022 at the age of 96, she had several health problems, some of which were age-related. One author posthumously reported an illness with bone marrow cancer, which was never communicated by the palace. In October 2021, the ruler of the century was spotted using a walking stick. After a night in hospital, she missed the Remembrance Day ceremony in November due to a back sprain and deviated from tradition by not spending Christmas with the rest of the royal family at Sandringham, partly due to the rise in COVID-19 cases around the year Holidays. In February 2022, the Queen herself became ill with COVID-19 and her recovery was slow. She said in a video call with a COVID patient that "it makes you feel very tired and exhausted." Her last official act came on September 6, when she named Liz Truss as the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom at Balmoral Castle in Scotland. She would cancel later events on the doctor's orders. The Queen never returned from Balmoral. © Jonathan Brady/dpa
6 / 9Prince Philip died weeks before his 100th birthday. In the years before his death, the Duke of Edinburgh apparently had several age-related health problems. He officially stepped down from his duties in 2017 and surrendered his driving license in 2019 after a car accident. In December of that year, he was admitted to hospital for an undisclosed "pre-existing condition," the palace said. In February 2021, he was admitted to the King Edward VII Hospital to undergo a few days of observation and recovery, according to reports that he was “feeling unwell” and “was being treated for an infection,” the palace said. He then remained in hospital for 28 days. In March he was transferred to St Bartholomew's Hospital, where he underwent surgery for a "pre-existing heart condition", the palace said. After his recovery, Prince Philip returned to Windsor Castle, where he died “peacefully” on April 9th. © Bethany Clarke/dpa
7 / 9Princess Margaret was known as the "Rebel Royal" because of her penchant for breaking the rules, but also because of her heavy smoking and drinking. In 1985, Queen Elizabeth's only sister had part of her lung surgically removed. Years later, in 1993, Margaret was hospitalized for pneumonia. She then suffered two strokes - one in 1998 during a holiday in Mustique, which catapulted Margret into a wheelchair (in 1999, according to Spiegel, the explanation was that the princess had been too hot bathwater burned her feet and couldn't walk) and another in 2002. The latter proved fatal and she died on February 9 of that year. She was 71 years old. In an official statement from Buckingham Palace in January 2001 it was said that the health of 70-year-old Margaret was “stable” and “not life-threatening”. © Pa_Mel/dpa
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8 / 9Princess Diana's relationship with Charles was turbulent. The former Princess of Wales spoke openly about how being a member of the royal family affected her mental health - including suffering from postpartum depression and bulimia. "I had bulimia and just felt like I was no good and useless and hopeless and failing in every way," she told Martin Bashir in the infamous BBC 1 Panorama interview in 1995. "It was a symptom of what was going on in my marriage. I screamed for help but gave the wrong signals and people used my bulimia as a coat hanger. They said that was the problem: Diana was unstable," she said, adding: "The cause was the situation where my husband and I had to hold everything together because we didn't want to disappoint the public, and yet obviously there was one Lots of unrest in our four walls.” (Pictured with Dr Henry Kissinger as she passes a plate of sweets) © John_Stillwell/dpa
9 / 9As King George VI. When he was diagnosed with cancer in 1951, the palace hid the diagnosis not only from the public, but also from the monarch himself. In September 1951, Queen Elizabeth's father underwent a pneumonectomy - the removal of the lungs - which, according to the palace, was due to "structural abnormalities." His sudden death five months later was attributed to a "coronary thrombosis" caused by his vascular disease, according to The Telegraph, although it has since been speculated that his lung cancer was the cause. © picture-alliance / dpa/dpaweb | Files
London - Under Queen Elizabeth II (96, † 2022), the unofficial motto of the British royal family still applied: “Never complain, never explain” - but there were occasional exceptions. The public was then given an insight into the royals' private health records, as was recently the case with Princess Kate (42).
Princess Kate, King Charles and Princess Diana shared their suffering with the public for different reasons in their time (photomontage). © Andrew Milligan/dpa & Cover Images/Imago & Photoshot/John Shelley Collection/Imago
Princess Kate's (42) shocking cancer diagnosis suddenly silenced all speculation and conspiracy theorists, which had taken on increasingly wilder forms in times of silence. With a sense of responsibility for her three children, the wife of the heir to the throne, Prince William, finally decided to flee forward. Some of the Britroyals' other medical records were only opened posthumously.
Sources used:
people.com, thesun.co.uk, tmz.com
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