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The end of the royal family. Serious illnesses, unexplained absences and swirling conspiracy theories have left Britain’s most famous blue bloods in turmoil.
Buckingham Palace announced in January that King Charles III underwent a procedure to correct an enlarged prostate. In February, aides shared grimmer news: The monarch, 75, has “a form of cancer.” But he’s refused to reveal the type or his prognosis even as he’s stepped back from royal duties to seek treatment — stoking fears that his condition is worse than the palace will admit.
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Camilla Takes a Break
With Charles mostly out of the picture, Queen Camilla, 76, picked up the slack, appearing at multiple engagements in February. But she took more than a week off in early March. Criticism flared as it meant that none of the four most senior royals — the king and the queen plus the Prince and Princess of Wales — was working in the public eye during that time.
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William Bows Out
Is the heir becoming unreliable? Prince William, 41, bailed on doing a reading at a memorial service for late godfather King Constantine of Greece that drew dozens of European royals to Windsor Castle — which is next door to the Prince of Wales’ home — on February 27. Kensington Palace declined to elaborate, saying only that the cancellation was due to “a personal matter.”
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Kate Disappears
She’d been MIA since December. But on March 5, Princess Kate, 42 — who underwent mysterious abdominal surgery in January that required months of private recovery — was photographed in a car with her mother. Critics branded it a PR stunt, as ongoing silence from the palace fueled relentless online speculation and conspiracy theories ranging from plastic surgery to marital woes.
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Andrew Repents
The king wanted a slimmed-down monarchy. Some courtiers, however, fear it’s now too thin: With Charles, William and Kate unable to attend the Greek king’s memorial in Windsor, disgraced Prince Andrew, 64 — who was forced to step down as a senior royal in 2019 because of his friendship with a pedophile — gleefully led his royal relatives to the church as cameras snapped away.
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Fergie Battles Cancer Again
After undergoing a mastectomy following a breast cancer diagnosis last summer, Andrew’s ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson — affectionately known as Fergie — is now facing another cancer battle. In January, Fergie’s rep revealed that doctors discovered a malignant melanoma, which is the deadliest form of skin cancer, admitting the news was “distressing” for the 64-year-old royal.
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Anne’s Husband Has a Black Eye
Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, 69 — the second husband of Princess Anne, 73 — sported a serious shiner at the high-profile service of thanksgiving in London on March 4. At least it wasn’t from a royal rumble (or, worse, from Anne!). A report confirmed the king’s brother-in-law sustained the black eye in a gardening incident involving some fencing. Which begs the question: The royals get their hands dirty?
