'Everything hinges on Kate': William's biggest test as heir apparent was one he could never prepare for
By Maddison Leach|
L?ess than 12 months into his tenure as heir apparent, Prince William was confronted with one of the biggest tests of his life - and one he never could have prepared for.
At the start of 2024, King Charles III and Catherine, the Princess of Wales both received cancer diagnoses that would have rocked William to his core.
The King made his public in a matter of days; Kate kept hers private จC as is her right จC for months.
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She took a break from public duties, telling the world she was recovering from "planned abdominal surgery" - which she was - and retreated to her home with William and their three children, Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, nine, and Prince Louis, six.
The hope was that they could process her diagnosis away from the media spotlight "for the sake of their young family".
Instead, the Princess of Wales became the subject of rumours as she silently prepared to start chemotherapy.
It should come as no surprise that William was "upset and angry" about the conspiracy theories that flooded social media and made the front pages of the tabloids.
A former royal staffer told People the future king had to work hard to "compartmentalise" his emotions as trolls and royal watchers claimed his wife had undergone plastic surgery, or that their marriage was failing, all while he tried to support Kate and their children in private.
The royal party line has long been to 'never complain, never explain', but that's easier said than done when affair rumours are running wild as your wife of 13 years goes through cancer treatment.?
The rumours only got worse as time went on, and presented William with his biggest challenge as heir apparent less than a year into the job.
His royal duty was to his father, who was going through his own cancer journey, and many expected William to fill the King's shoes as he underwent treatment.
But his duty as a husband and father was to Kate and their children, who needed him more than ever, even though the rest of the world didn't know it.
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William chose to prioritise his young family, reducing his public engagements so he could be at home as much as possible, which only invited new accusations that he was 'neglecting' his responsibilities as heir.
But as ?royal biographer Ingrid Seward told People, "For William, everything hinges on Kate's well-being".
She was his focus, as were their children, and William's first defining act as heir apparent was to put his family first. It was a decision his father, King Charles III, is said to have heartily supported.?
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"I think Charles has encouraged William to spend more time with the family and also said to William, 'I don't want you to take on any royal duties until you absolutely have to," Seward previously said on A Right Royal Podcast.
"And that was his father very much saying, 'You don't have to do this, be with your young family [...] you've got years and years and years of royal duties to do.'"?
With his father's blessing, William put his family before 'the Firm' and showed the world exactly what kind of King he will be one day.
"The double illness has placed enormous pressure on William, both as a parent and inheritor of the family business," royal biographer Robert Lacey told People.
"It has brought all kinds of challenges. He [has handled] it with calmness and lack of drama."?
William's stoic refusal to engage with cruel rumours about his wife and his calm demeanor in the face of two close family cancer diagnoses tell us he'll be a steadfast ruler able to face a crisis.
But he'll also be one who puts his wife and children at the top of his priority list, all while protecting them จC as much as he can จC from the spotlight that comes with being a member of the monarchy.?
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?William saw what happened when his own mother, the late Princess Diana, became a victim of the media circus that followed her in her final years. He won't let that become Kate's fate too.
As royal expert Dickie Arbiter previously told 9honey, "Prince William has shown that he has the all the makings, stature and confidence of a King in waiting.?
"The future of the monarchy is in safe hands."?
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