Last year was tough on the Prince and Princess of Wales. Although Prince William put on a brave face for his public appearances, a friend of William’s has revealed how badly Kate Middleton’s cancer diagnosis really affected him.
Speaking on the current affairs show, 60 Minutes Australia, close confidant and former chief executive of Prince William and Kate’s royal foundation, Jason Knauf, revealed that the news was quite a blow for the future king. Not only did he have to deal with his wife’s cancer diagnosis, but also his father, King Charles, had also been diagnosed with cancer too. This understandably left the prince feeling low.
“It was awful, absolutely awful. It’s the lowest I’ve ever seen him… Within a couple of weeks, if you’re Prince William, you find out that both your wife and your father have cancer. I couldn’t believe it.”
Public speculation didn’t help
No doubt it was a rough time for the prince, especially considering the fact that, prior to the public revelation, the internet was filled with conspiracy theories making all sorts of wild claims about Kate’s whereabouts. At that point, she hadn’t been seen in public in a number of months and naturally the whole world began to grow concerned with the lack of news from the royal family.
Knauf revealed that the reason for the delay in explaining Kate’s absence was actually because they had yet to work out how they were going to tell their children, who were still unaware.
“But they didn’t want to say yet that she had cancer because they hadn’t told the children and they were still working through how to tell the children.”
That was undoubtedly a difficult conversation for the royal couple, but the speculation was unfortunately getting very out of hand. William has spoken on the subject and how it affected him previously. During his visit to South Africa last year he told reporters that it was “dreadful,” and that it had been the “hardest year” of his life. He went on to say that keeping track of everything while trying to “get through everything else” had been really difficult.
Kate’s cancer is now in remission
However, things have since calmed down a little bit for the prince and his family. Earlier this year it was confirmed that Kate’s cancer was in remission meaning William and his wife could breathe a sigh of relief at long last. Of course, there are still other concerns that likely weigh heavy on his mind, Charles is still battling his cancer, and then there’s also the family drama with Harry and Meghan.
Knauf, who left his position as chief executive in 2021, actually filed a bullying complaint against Meghan in 2018. He spoke about the relationship between William and his brother explaining that it was difficult having everything play out in the public eye but William had, “chosen to keep his thoughts on it private,” he went on to say that we should respect his decision and do the same.
Published: Feb 25, 2025 09:56 am