LONDON, May 5, (AP): King Charles III’s decision to be open about his cancer diagnosis has helped the new monarch connect with the people of Britain and strengthened the monarchy in the year since his dazzling coronation at Westminster Abbey.
Charles has used his illness to highlight the need for early diagnosis and treatment, showing leadership at a time of personal hardship. And in the process, people have begun to see him as a more flesh-and-blood character who faces the same challenges as them, not just an archetype of wealth and privilege.
“Ultimately, the great leveler is health,” said Anna Whitelock, a professor of the history of the monarchy at City University, London. “And the fact is, the royal family, like so many other families, are coping with a cancer diagnosis. And I think that has … taken the energy out of big challenges to the king.’’
Questions still remain. Can a 1,000-year-old inherited monarchy represent the people of modern Britain? How will the institution address concerns about its links to empire and slavery? Should the monarchy be replaced with an elected head of state?
But for now, at least, those issues have been largely set aside as the 75-year-old king undergoes treatment for an undisclosed type of cancer.
Of all the things experts expected the royal family to face in the year following Charles’ coronation, the events of the last five months took Britain by surprise.
First, Charles was treated for an enlarged prostate, then he revealed his cancer diagnosis. That was followed quickly by the announcement that the Princess of Wales, Prince William’s wife, Kate, also had cancer.
Both retreated from public duties to focus on their health.
William followed suit so he could support his wife and the couple’s three young children.
It was not just the septuagenarian monarch who was ill, but the much younger future queen. Her spouse needed to help out. Suddenly the royal family seemed much more vulnerable, more human.
King Charles III’s openness about cancer has helped him connect with people in year after coronation
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