Prince William has candidly spoken about how difficult this past year has been for him in light of both his wife, Princess Catherine, and his father, King Charles III, being diagnosed with cancer.
“It’s been dreadful. It’s probably been the hardest year in my life,” the Prince of Wales told reporters while in Cape Town, South Africa for the 2024 Earthshot Prize.
“Trying to get through everything else and keep everything on track has been really difficult,” William continued.
The heir-apparent went on to praise both Catherine and Charles for the way they handled their respective cancer diagnoses.
“I’m so proud of my wife, I’m proud of my father, for handling the things that they have done. But from a personal family point of view, it’s been, yeah, it’s been brutal.”
William then added that Catherine, who has drastically scaled back her royal duties and public appearances, is “doing well”.
At this stage, a reporter told the Prince of Wales that he looked relaxed.
“I couldn’t be less relaxed this year, so it’s very interesting you’re all seeing that,” he replied.
“But it’s more a case of just crack on and you’ve got to keep going. I enjoy my work and I enjoy pacing myself and keeping sure that I have got time for my family, too.”
King Charles first revealed he’d been diagnosed with cancer in February of this year.
He took a short break from public-facing duties while he received treatment.
His Majesty returned to all of his responsibilities in April of this year and seems to have recovered well; he recently visited Australia with Queen Camilla and looked to be in good health throughout.
The Princess of Wales revealed to the public that she’d been diagnosed with cancer in March of this year.
In September, she shared that she had finished chemotherapy and had entered a “new phase of recovery”.
