King Charles’ move to protect Princess Catherine in double health battle
The timing of King Charles’ shock statement about his health issues was a bold strategy with one major aim, a royal expert says.
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The timing of King Charles’ surprise statement about his health issues was designed to protect his daughter-in-law Princess Catherine as she recovers from surgery, it has been claimed.
The double health scare shocked royal fans last week when Kensington Palace revealed that the Princess of Wales was in hospital after abdominal surgery.
Just 90 minutes later, Buckingham Palace announced that King Charles was to be treated in hospital for an enlarged prostate.
The reason for Princess Catherine’s surgery has not been revealed, with Kensington Palace only saying it was non-cancer related.
The 75-year-old monarch, who was pictured driving along near Sandringham on Tuesday ahead of his surgery, has made his prostate diagnosis public and is keen to raise awareness of the condition, which is extremely common among men.
Royal expert and historian Tessa Dunlop told The Mirror the timing of King Charles’ announcement — and the fact that he released details about his health battle — was a strategy to deflect attention from his daughter-in-law’s operation.
“It is highly unusual for the royal family to divulge private health matters,” Dr Dunlop said.
“In that respect the shared information about the King’s enlarged prostate was unprecedented, and it was also canny.
“Buckingham Palace doesn’t do spontaneity; the release of a statement containing private matters about the King’s health immediately after news of the Princess of Wales’ major abdominal surgery was deliberate.
“The timing deflected from his daughter-in-law’s major operation, likewise, the private detail concerning his prostate gave the public something else to think about.”
Dr Dunlop told The Mirror “there was something else at play” and it indicated the royals wanted to set boundaries.
PRINCE HARRY ‘REACHES OUT TO KING CHARLES’
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have called King Charles and Catherine, Princess of Wales as they undergo hospital procedures to pass on their “best wishes”.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex telephoned “both parties in different ways to pass on their concern and best wishes”.
“The King and Princess of Wales have received support from Prince Harry and Meghan regarding their health”, a royal insider said.
“The Duke and Duchess contacted both parties in different ways to pass on their concerns.”
It comes as the Princess of Wales recovers for two weeks at the London Clinic hospital for abdominal surgery, and the King prepares to undergo a corrective procedure for an enlarged prostate.
Prince Harry had failed to publicly send his best wishes to his dad and sister-in-law when he netted an award at the Living Legends of Aviation event on Saturday.
Buckingham Palace privately informed the couple of the news before it broke publicly.
Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams said it was “time” Prince Harry reached out to the King.
“The Palace had informed Prince Harry that his father was scheduled to go into surgery, and it’s right that he should express his concerns for his father, the feud between them has gone only too long, but when it comes to health scares, matters of the heart have to be put aside and contact must be made, you never know what will happen,” he said.
“I’m glad Prince Harry has reached out to his father, it will mean the world to him to have that contact,” he said.
It comes after reports that the Princess of Wales will continue her royal duties from bed while she recovers at hospital from abdominal surgery King Charles, meanwhile, is preparing for a prostate operation this week.
Princess Catherine is “doing well” at the private London Clinic after the planned surgery, The Sun reports, but is likely to remain in hospital for 10 to 14 days before returning home to continue her recovery.
Sources have claimed the royal’s commitment to her royal duties will see her get back into work as soon as she can.
Insiders told The Times that as soon as the Princess is discharged from hospital she will work from bed.
They said her “unwavering commitment to duty” would see her get back into her ongoing campaigns “as soon as possible”.
Kensington Palace announced last week that Catherine had undergone the surgery, but were quick to say it was not related in any way to cancer.
Less than 90 minutes later, Buckingham Palace announced King Charles would need an operation on an enlarged prostate.
The royal couple’s three children Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, eight, and Prince Louis, five, were all at Lambrook School in Berkshire the following day as the family stuck to their normal routine.
Prince William has been doing the school run in between trips to see his wife, while Princess Catherine’s parents are also said to have cleared their schedules to help with the children.
Officials have not revealed the nature of the surgery due to Catherine’s “medical privacy”. But a source said she was doing well.
The Princess is expected to remain under supervision by doctors and medical experts for at least ten days.
The Palace advised that her hospital stay could be as long as two weeks. She will then be discharged to rest back home.
The Princess is said to have canned all her scheduled arrangements until after Easter.
She will not be well enough to return to royal engagements until then, which means she will be out of work for up to 11 weeks to recover. It is thought she may not appear in public until April.
It has forced the royal pair to postpone top-secret plans to visit British troops stationed abroad.
An official visit to Italy in February has been called off and William will not travel alone.
Catherine’s major projects launched last year, including her Shaping Us initiative for under-fives, will take a back seat while she recovers.
A statement from Kensington Palace said: “Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales was admitted to The London Clinic yesterday for planned abdominal surgery.
“The surgery was successful and it is expected that she will remain in hospital for ten to 14 days, before returning home to continue her recovery.
“Based on the current medical advice, she is unlikely to return to public duties until after Easter.
“The Princess of Wales appreciates the interest this statement will generate.
“She hopes the public will understand her desire to maintain as much normality for her children as possible; and her wish that her personal medical information remains private.
“Kensington Palace will, therefore, only provide updates on Her Royal Highness’s progress when there is significant new information to share.
“The Princess of Wales wishes to apologise to all those concerned for the fact that she has to postpone her upcoming engagements.
“She looks forward to reinstating as many as possible, as soon as possible.”
Princess Catherine was last seen in public on Christmas Day as she, Prince William and their children walked to St Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham.
She looked relaxed and smiling as she spoke to festive wellwishers.
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