If it is true that one is never sufficiently prepared for a painful event such as the loss of a parent, it is easy to imagine how Charles often thought about his succession to the throne during the long reign of mother Elizabeth. Conversely, Prince William does not appear to be ready for a possible rise in the coming months. Indeed, the idea seems to give him a lot of worry, especially since his children are still young and his wife has just discovered that she is suffering from cancer. Yet the worrying news about the king’s health has caused concern William and Kate, who would be anxious about the possibility of having to ascend the throne sooner than expected.
Journalist Tina Brown reports this background in an essay in New York Times published last March 25th. “The almost simultaneous news of Charles’ cancer has put William and Catherine in a position frighteningly close to ascending the throne just when they had hoped for a period of years to parent their children away from the public eye,” explains the expert real, that remembers how the dramatic dual diagnosis caused great upheaval within the familyas well as an understandable sense of disorientation in public opinion, which after just a year and a half of Charles’ reign is struggling to imagine the coronation of a new sovereign.
This “frightening closeness” reportedly terrifies the prince himself, who in recent weeks has taken time from public commitments to be close to the princess and her three still young children. “The prospect of this, I am told, is causing them intense anxiety” writes Brown, recalling how the various scandals that have hit the royal family in recent times – including the departure of Harry and Meghan from the Firm and the troubles judicial proceedings of Prince Andrew, involved in a compromising friendship with the pedophile Jeffrey Epstein – have put William and Kate “under unmanageable pressure”.
A stress that is difficult to imagine, to which is added the uncertainty for the future conditions of the sovereign and of the Princess of Wales herself, who has begun to undergo the first treatments. “Catherine is the most popular member of the royal family after William” reveals Brown. And adds: “The future of the monarchy hangs by a thread, and that thread is you“. “A wave of premature responsibility is crashing over her and William. Frozen, unprepared and with Catherine now seriously ill, the Prince and Princess of Wales await the impressive burden of the crown”. It cannot be ruled out that the Princes of Sussex have offered to temporarily rejoin the royal family precisely because they are aware of the hardships of this moment, but it is unthinkable that William will ever accept such an offer. For the Waleses it is time to start thinking about a possible succession, which could be quicker than expected.