Royal family shaken by health scares, widening rifts in dramatic 2024
Health scares, disagreements and widening rifts shook the Royal family to its core in 2024. Here’s how one of the most dramatic years in history at Buckingham Palace played out.
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From devastating health scares to widening rifts, 2024 proved to be one of the more eventful — and unpredictable — years in recent royal history.
Here’s what unfolded for key members of the British royal family, as well as Australia’s own Queen Mary, and what the new year could bring.
PRINCESS CATHERINE
The world was left reeling when Princess Catherine revealed in March that she had been diagnosed with an unspecified type of cancer and was undergoing chemotherapy.
The revelation came after a torrid few months for the much-loved royal, who had been subjected to an embarrassing Photoshop scandal over her family images.
Cruel memes and speculation about the state of her marriage to Prince William added to the frenzy, which was dramatically halted when the royal announced her health battle.
After nearly six months out of the public eye, the ever-resilient Catherine made a much-anticipated, yet tentative return to the spotlight at Trooping the Colour with her family in June.
The mum of three bravely smiled and waved to the crowds at the event, but the day was said to have taken a great deal out of the ailing royal.
The following month, Catherine attended the men’s finals at Wimbledon with daughter Charlotte and sister Pippa Middleton, where she received a heartfelt standing ovation from the crowd.
After a quiet period, the future queen then did something completely unexpected.
In a move that underlined her and Prince William’s PR strategy of controlling the narrative, the royal released a personal video featuring private moments with her children to announce that she had completed her course of chemotherapy.
Moving on to November, Catherine’s gradual return to public life continued, with appearances at the Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert hall, followed by the Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph, where she appeared to gain comfort from the presence of Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, who placed her hand on Catherine’s back in an intimate sign of friendship.
Ever the trooper, Catherine was determined not to miss her annual signature event in early December, the Christmas carol service at Westminster Abbey to which she invited child survivors of the horrific Southport stabbings.
As for 2025, Prince William has already indicated that his wife will increase her public engagements in the coming year as her health continues to improve.
The future king, who thrilled royal fans by growing a beard, gave insight into his harrowing time since his wife and father’s twin cancer diagnoses, admitting that 2024 had been brutal.
“It’s been dreadful. It’s probably been the hardest year in my life. So, trying to get through everything else and keep everything on track has been really difficult,” he told reporters in South Africa last month.
PRINCE HARRY AND MEGHAN MARKLE
Reeling from the disastrous fallout of the embarrassing failure of their Spotify deal, the Sussexes appeared to be on a supercharged mission throughout 2024 to diversify their ever-evolving brand.
Meghan’s long-discussed lifestyle brand failed to make an appearance despite much hype from her celebrity friends, while Harry ploughed on with his Netflix series Polo, which was met with mixed reviews.
Aside from their business ventures, Prince Harry and Meghan pulled two key power moves that some royal experts interpreted as a signal to the royal family that they have no intention of backing down.
The first was their faux royal trip to Nigeria, where the Sussexes were met with adoring crowds and treated to lavish receptions.
Although pitched as a private trip, the whirlwind tour featured all the hallmarks — including daggy dancing by Harry — of a royal visit. Their second power move came with the purchase of a luxury villa in Portugal, in the same billionaire’s playground where Harry’s cousin, Princess Eugenie, now resides with her family.
Royal experts noted that the purchase in the coastal town of Melides would provide the Sussexes with a European base as well as a connection to the royal family through Princess Eugenie.
Relations between Prince Harry and his brother and father continued to deteriorate throughout the year, with King Charles “too busy” to see son during a rare visit into the UK by the California-based royal in May.
Previous to that, Prince Harry had rushed to his father’s side in February when he was told of his cancer diagnosis, but was said to have spent less than an hour with the monarch.
Royal observers noted that Harry and Meghan ended the year with an increasing number of solo engagements.
The flurry of events included Harry’s surprise trip to Canada in November to promote the 2025 winter Invictus Games, which kick off next March.
KING CHARLES AND QUEEN CAMILLA
If 1992 was his late mother Queen Elizabeth II’s “annus horribilis”, 2024 takes the title for King Charles.
Less than a year into his reign, the 75-year-old monarch was hit with a cancer diagnosis that rocked the monarchy.
Yet, as he underwent treatment, the famously busy — and impatient — Charles was itching to get moving again.
His visit to Australia and Samoa in October, during which he paused his cancer treatment, was a resounding success.
However, it was marred by rogue Senator Lidia Thorpe’s outburst after Charles’ parliamentary speech.
Returning to the UK, the King continued with his duties. However, a severe chest infection forced Queen Camilla to cancel several engagements, causing concern for the 77-year-old’s health.
According to palace officials, the King found his Australian visit to be the “perfect tonic” in light of his health battles and he plans to resume a full program of overseas travel in 2025.
PRINCE ANDREW AND FERGIE
The never-ending saga of Prince Andrew took another turn when it emerged he had forged links with an alleged Chinese spy.
The Duke of York’s refusal to leave his Royal Lodge residence seemed set to be coming to a head at year’s end with reports that King Charles wants to move Prince Edward and wife Sophie into the Windsor Castle home.
In an unlikely arrangement, the scandal-plagued Andrew lives on the sprawling property with ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, who this year faced her own cancer battle.
The Duchess of York was diagnosed with melanoma just months after battling breast cancer, but said she was “doing well” after treatment.
QUEEN MARY
It was a year unlike any other for Australia’s own Queen Mary, who ascended the Danish throne after the shock abdication of her mother-in-law, Queen Margrethe.
The unprecedented turn of events came after the Tasmanian-born royal’s marriage to King Frederik came under scrutiny amid cheating allegations which were strenuously denied.
The much-loved royal weathered the storm, with her first year as Queen featuring numerous loved-up public appearances with her husband as they ushered in a new era for the Danish royal family.
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