The announcement by the British royal family that king Charles III is suffering from cancer, a diagnosis made after a prostate operation last week, again places the monarch in the role of confronting adversity due to serious and unexpected news. It seems that the heir to the house of Windsor is destined to be dogged by bad luck, which has followed him through life. Although no explanations have been given about the type of cancer, nor about its prognosis, it has been stated that he has started regular treatment this very Monday and he hopes to return to his public obligations as soon as possible. Meanwhile, other members of the British royal family will relieve him of some public duties, starting with William, his eldest son and Prince of Wales. It so happens that Kensington Palace raised eyebrows three weeks ago with the statement reporting that Kate Middleton, princess of Wales, had undergone abdominal surgery, which had been a success and that she was doing well, even though she would have to remain hospitalized for between ten and fourteen days and would be on sick leave until after Easter.
The news of Charles III's cancer comes just a few months after his coronation, on May 6th, and 17 months after the death of Queen Elizabeth II, aged 96. The current British monarch was the heir to the crown and Prince of Wales with the most years of service and, at 73 years old, he became, after the death of his mother, the oldest person to accede to the British throne. The physical toughness of Elizabeth II, combined with her enormous popularity, created speculation for a long time that Charles would not even become king and the throne would pass directly to his son William, whose fame and admiration in British society, due in part to his youth, easily surpass that accorded to his father, who has always been seen as a member of the snobby, extravagant royalty. Two adjectives that have always gone ahead of his modern vision of climate change and his advanced positions in environmental policies.
There is nothing in the world of royalty that is as punitive as not being able to represent the role that a monarch is supposed to symbolize
Although Charles III will retain his functions as head of state and will keep on with his office work with the normality that a complex situation like this requires, it is clear that the situation to be experienced in the United Kingdom will be of an unknown complexity. For that reason, it has been chosen to avoid speculation and, according to Buckingham Palace, to opt for transparency in the hope that it can help public understanding towards all those people in the world who are affected by cancer. A relative transparency, and allowing only the future evolution of the disease to determine the agenda for the times ahead and the measures that might be adopted.
For those of us who have been fervent followers of the six seasons of the television series The Crown, on the reign of Elizabeth II, from the memorable first season covering Elizabeth's marriage to Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, in 1947, until the last that ends with the marriage of Prince Charles to Camilla Shand in 2005, this change of script would well merit a seventh season, despite not being planned. There is nothing in the world of royalty that is as punitive as not being able to represent the role that a monarch is supposed to symbolize. Charles III, with a life buffeted by fate, often in the shadow of the popularity of a Princess Diana that he has been unable to shake off, will also, from this point on, have to fight to avoid leaving the spotlight much earlier than expected.