Prince William has forged an ‘unlikely ally’ with Queen Camilla amid royal family health crises, according to an expert the mirror.
Two of The Firm’s senior members – the King, 75, and Princess of Wales, 42, are being treated for cancer. During their treatment, they are forced to resign from their royal duties and step out of the spotlight.
Since he announced his condition, Queen Camilla increased her number of official duties – filling in for Charles at thirteen royal engagements – while the king continued appropriate work from home.
Meanwhile, Prince William, 41, has had to deal with a number of solo engagements, all under the glaze of social media, including a number of internet sleuths coming up with ‘theories’ about Kate’s whereabouts.
According to royal expert Jennie Bond, William and Camilla have built an unexpected bond during this difficult time.
Prince William, Prince of Wales and Catherine, Princess of Wales. pictured in London in November 2023
Jennie also told OK! magazine that she had noticed changes in William and Camilla’s relationship since Kate released her video statement announcing she is receiving preventive chemotherapy.
She said: Recent events have clearly brought William and Camilla much closer together. They are almost literally left to care for the Crown while the King and Princess recover.
‘Their teams will work more closely to coordinate agendas and discuss planned assignments, and Camilla and William will no doubt have been in much closer regular contact.’
Meanwhile, a royal source told Queen Camilla’s Sunday Times: ‘Although she didn’t expect to be in a position to lead the family, the Queen is absolutely willing to do whatever it takes for the institution.
“She has found reserves of energy she didn’t even think she had, and the people in the palace have soared in her appreciation now that she has put her shoulder to the wheel.”
Yesterday, Kate announced in a video on Instagram that cancer cells had been discovered, while she underwent surgery for a different condition in January.
She explained that she hadn’t talked about it before because she wanted time to “explain everything” to George, Charlotte and Louis and assure them, “I’ll be fine.”
A Palace spokesperson said: ‘We will not share any further private medical information. The princess has the right to medical privacy, just like all of us.”
Their spouses’ illness means Prince William and Queen Camilla have forged a closer bond, says royal expert Jennie Bond
Currently, the specific type of cancer Kate has is unknown, but she said in her video message last night that the cancer was discovered after her abdominal surgery in January.
She said: ‘The operation was successful but tests after the operation revealed cancer was present.
‘You can imagine that this took time. It took me time to recover from major surgery before I could start my treatment.”
Lawrence Young, professor of molecular oncology at the University of Warwick, has said that catching the disease when you are young, like Kate, 42, means your chance of survival is higher.
He added that because Kate’s cancer was discovered accidentally while she was undergoing surgery for another condition, it was likely to be in its early stages.