On February 5th, Birmingham Palace, home to King Charles and queen consort Camilla, announced that the newly crowned king of the United Kingdom had cancer. The royal family declined to share the type of cancer the king had fallen ill with the public. However, they announced that the cancer was in the early stages and not life-threatening. The king’s diagnosis comes during a time when Princess Kate is recovering from a planned abdominal surgery and has left a public power void for the royal family. With the king being treated, he has taken a step down from his public appearances and commitments, leaving other royal family members like his wife, Queen Camilla, and sister, Princess Anne, to be the face of the United Kingdom’s monarchy. 
King Charles’s cancer was announced after he had undergone a procedure in London for an enlarged prostate, leading to the assumption that the cancer had to do with his pancreas. Still, a palace insider revealed that it was not any form of pancreatic cancer, although he did not comment on the type of cancer he does have. The information about the diagnosis and King Charles’s doctor’s visit was surprising because the family has been historically reluctant to release private information to the public, specifically in the last few years of Queen Elizabeth’s life when little to no information about her health was revealed.
During Queen Elizabeth’s last year of her reign, there was a lot of speculation about her medical condition. Still, neither the palace nor any senior royal family members commented on her condition. Mark Landler, a journalist for the New York Times who has worked closely with matters regarding the royal family since 2019, commented, “It’s a milestone in royal family communication that they said so much publicly.” However, some think that revealing the information has raised more questions than answers and has done more harm than good, sparking an anxious wave for the monarchy’s future.
Despite the lack of convergence on most royal family appearances, King Charles has public commitments almost every day, from events honoring medical dogs to visiting colleges and celebrating famous anniversaries. Prince William has often been the most public face of the family besides that of the king, but since the king’s transfer of duties, he has been notably absent. He has been dealing with the medical recovery of his wife, Princess Kate, who, according to the palace, had a planned abdominal surgery. This has left the once not-so-popular queen Camilla to uphold the public responsibilities of the royal family. Since King Charles’s wedding to Camilla, she has been less than liked by the public and often blamed for the death of the beloved princess Diana, King Charles’s late wife, who was killed in a car crash with sketchy circumstances surrounding it. However, in the last few weeks, the public has liked her for stepping up for King Charles.
Most recently, she was seen hosting a party for the 15th anniversary of medical dogs in the UK. It’s expected that once Princess Kate has recovered, most public duties will be placed upon her and Prince William, as they were before they had been prominent in the public light in the UK. Despite Queen Camilla’s role as King Charles ultimately decides to abdicate the throne or dies, she will not be in charge as the throne will be passed down to Prince William and Princess Kate, and they will have the final say in how little or big of a role queen Camilla will play within Birmingham palace. 
The final shocking change that came with King Charles’s announcement of his cancer is that Prince Harry, one of the most controversial figures in the royal family, visited London on a short trip to see his father. Since his wedding with Meghan Markel, Prince Harry has scarcely been caught with his family, with the notable exception of attending the king’s coronation ceremony. His visit sparked many news stories and speculation that he would return to the family; however, those rumors were squashed as it’s unlikely that King Charles would welcome him back into the family. According to news stories, the rift created by his marriage to Meghan Markle and his book detailing all the insides of the royal family has made him a pariah among the family.
The public waits day and night for more information about the king’s condition and plans for the throne. In the last few weeks, with sparse statements and reluctant information revealed, an announcement seems unpredictable. If it does happen, it, it will likely be only transparent to an extent, as many secrets still lie behind the palace walls.
