Even in illness, the King is setting an example for nation
NEWS of the King’s cancer diagnosis has been met with profound shock and sympathy but the nation will rally around the monarch, as the outpouring of goodwill messages from politicians of all parties demonstrates.
These are the bellwether moments for Britain, as evidenced during the aftermath of the Queen’s death when the strength of affection and support for the Royal Family was overwhelming. Then, like now, the stability of our constitutional monarchy shone through, making us the envy of other nations around the world.
This is not to say tiny pockets of dissent are ever absent.
During the Coronation, another time of great popular support for the new King and the traditions of royalty, there were a handful of disaffected banner-wavers.
But the vast majority of Britons enjoyed the spectacle and the opportunity to display their patriotic support, even if not all are ardent monarchists.
Even the late Eric Hobsbawm, the far-Left historian, recognised constitutional monarchies of the type we enjoy in the UK as the most stable form of governance, stating that they had in general “proved a reliable framework for liberal-democratic regimes” and are “likely to remain useful”.
AND this is especially true during a time of political change in an election year. The overarching continuity of a monarchy balances wild swings in the parliamentary pendulum and saves us from a too-partisan head of state.
It was King George V who first saw the necessity of abandoning the aloofness of royalty, sympathising as he did with the plight of the working classes, especially during the economic turmoil of the 1920s and 30s.
He appointed the first Labour prime minister a century ago, dismaying many royalists who feared the rise of anti-monarchy socialism. And he later delivered the first Christmas speech by radio in 1932, and was rewarded with a wave of popularity during his Silver Jubilee in 1935.
By granting even more access to the royal household, his granddaughter Queen Elizabeth II very much reinforced the idea of a Royal Family that shares in some of the dilemmas and trials we all face. Charles III has taken this one step further by revealing his current diagnosis in a break with tradition.
By doing so, he will undoubtedly save many lives by highlighting the importance of regular tests to detect and treat cancer as soon as possible.
Indeed, as the Prime Minister revealed yesterday, the King is lucky in that his cancer has been “caught early”.
Britain has some of the best cancer treatment in the world but rates of early diagnosis in the UK have been hit by doctors’ strikes, cancelled appointments, unavailable GPs and ever-longer waiting lists – meaning many others will not be so fortunate.
The King’s revelation has spurred some oncologists to call for diagnostic hubs to speed up the process of testing of cancers that will affect one in two of us throughout our lifetime.
While half of all patients now survive cancer for at least 10 years, the rate of progress in improving prognosis has slowed since 2010, according to a report commissioned by Cancer Research UK.
Speaking about this, Mark Lawler, a cancer expert and professor at Queen’s University Belfast, said: “The impact of Covid and national lockdowns has set back survival for certain cancers like bowel by almost a decade.”
To that can be added the impact of continuing strikes by junior doctors.
THE report recommends our NHS returns to a national cancer strategy. And it should bypass the chokepoints of GPs, who frequently miss the early signs of cancers when more reliable blood tests could quickly assess the risks.
A national scheme with dedicated centres for the rapid testing of those with worrying symptoms would save many more lives and would be a wonderful legacy for the King, whose own predicament has galvanised action against this horrible disease.
Some people may decry the old-fashioned indulgence of a Royal Family but it is at times like this that the very ordinary misfortunes afflicting this privileged group allow us all to share in the grief and concern as part of our daily lives.
The stoicism and devotion to public duty exhibited by the late Queen and now King Charles is a good example of a national spirit that should become a model for us all.
‘Stoicism of the late Queen and now Charles is a model for us all’