OPINION - King Charles's cancer blow will cause a cascade of change for the royals
One of the many paradoxes on which a modern monarchy rests is the pomp and reverence accorded to a royal head of state — matched by insatiable nosiness about their personal lives.
The news that the King has an undisclosed form of cancer, serious enough to require immediate treatment, is a vivid example of that contradiction. The King has only recently confirmed treatment for an enlarged prostate (which was, thankfully, benign) when the sobering discovery of another acute ailment was revealed.
Anyone who has had a diagnosis in person or to a close friend or relative will understand the jolting feeling — a mixture of hope, fear and “do they mean me?” incomprehension and an over-arching question about what it means for lifespan and future wellbeing. The King is very fortunate, in terms of his access to care and support. But standing aside from his he has sent out to calm national nerves allied to reassuring messages from Buckingham Palace about his prognosis.
