Loyal William is shouldering an unimaginable burden...but is doing so with dignity and calm stoicism
THE Prince of Wales’ courage and dignity in the face of a personal maelstrom proves he is worthy to be a King in waiting, experts said last night.
William, 41, is facing the biggest test of his life as his father and wife both battle cancer. He remains estranged from his younger brother Harry, has three children to protect and is heir to the throne at a time of breakneck change.
The Prince has faced the onslaught with maturity and responsibility and those closest to him say there is no one better equipped to deal with the unprecedented challenges.
Dickie Arbiter, the Queen’s official spokesman between 1988 and 2000, said: “This is a test of William’s mettle like no other. If anything could go wrong, it has.
“His dad has cancer, his wife has cancer and he wants to be there because he is a family man.
“At the same time, he is a senior member of the Royal Family and has to carry out functions, engaging with the public.
“And, as was the case in Sheffield last week, you would never know anything was wrong or was troubling him.
“He is marvellous with the public and all the while was having to contend with all these ghastly conspiracy theories banged out by supposedly intelligent people who really should know better.”
Mr Arbiter, 83, added: “It is a test of the man’s strength and what the Royal Family is doing, as it always has done, is not to panic.
“There is concern, obviously, but there is no crisis. It is keeping calm and carrying on
‘This is a test of his mettle like no other. If anything could go wrong it has’
andWilliam is keeping calm and carrying on. His priorities are his family, his wife, his children and his role as heir to the throne, supporting the King.”
After William’s father, Charles, went public with his diagnosis earlier this year the Queen, 76, the Princess Royal, 73, and the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, all stepped up.
But the brunt of the burden fell to his eldest son, the Prince of Wales, who has juggled public duties while worrying about his father and caring for his wife who was in hospital for abdominal surgery which took place on January 16.
He is now shouldering the unimaginable and added responsibility of caring for the Princess of Wales while she has preventive chemotherapy as she endures her own cancer fight, all while looking after their children, Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte,
8, and Prince Louis, 5.
The Prince and Princess of Wales both remain hugely popular figures, and are seen as the faces of a slimmed down modern Royal Family.
But the health worries that have beset the institution have thrust William further into the spotlight from which there is little escape.
Loyal William wholeheartedly supported his wife’s brave decision to publicly announce she was being treated for cancer and remains “extremely proud of her courage and strength”.
Kensington Palace said: “The prince and princess are both enormously touched by the kind messages from people here in the UK, across the Commonwealth and around the world in response to Her Royal Highness’ message. They are extremely moved by the public’s warmth and support and are grateful for the understanding of their request for privacy at this time.” Daily Express columnist and globally-respected oncologist Karol Sikora, 75, former director of the World Health Organisation’s Cancer Programme, said: “What William is going through is ghastly but familiar to so many families up and down the country. Cancer does not respect wealth, rank, status, colour or creed.
“Many people will be thinking, ‘how can
the future Queen get this disease?’ It just shows, in extraordinarily stark terms, that no one is exempt.
“But at the same time it makes cancer relatable and also gives us all hope no one is alone and we all have to fight this together. William’s response to an unimaginable challenge is an example and inspiration to every son, husband and father in the country.”
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt lost his brother Charlie to cancer last year, aged 53.
The father-of-three died three years after being diagnosed with sarcoma. Yesterday Mr Hunt, 57, formerly Britain’s longestserving Health Secretary, said of the Princess of Wales’ video message, released on Friday: “It was incredibly moving and I think I was touched like everyone else was.
“I think the thing that really cut me to the quick was when she explained the hardest thing of all for people who have had cancer and their family, which is how you tell your kids.
“And that’s obviously been a huge, huge thing for her and the Prince of Wales.
“And I know in my own family, when my brother had cancer, that was the most difficult thing.”
Michelle Mitchell, chief executive of Cancer Research UK, said: “Nearly one in two of us will develop cancer, but many more are affected when someone they love is diagnosed with cancer.
“Thanks to research there is hope – cancer survival has doubled in the last 50 years. High-profile cancer cases often act as a prompt to encourage people to find out more or think about their own health.
“If people spot something that’s not normal for them or isn’t going away, they should check with their GP. It probably won’t be cancer.
“But if it is, spotting it at an early stage means treatment is more likely to be successful.”