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It was a touching moment that largely went unnoticed by the congregation inside Westminster Abbey. As the King approached the Princess of Wales at the service to mark the late Queen’s 70 historic years on the throne in 2022, the affection between the pair was plain to see as he tenderly blew her a kiss while they waited for the royal procession to begin.
The monarch, 75, and his “darling” daughter-in-law, 42, have always been close – but sources say an already special bond has been “cemented” by them both being diagnosed with cancer within weeks of each other.
When the Princess spoke in her moving video message of how she was “thinking of all those whose lives have been affected by cancer,” adding: “You are not alone,” her father-in-law will doubtlessly have been foremost in her mind.
According to one well-placed source, the fact that they were both in hospital at the same time and are now joined together by the shared experience of undergoing cancer treatment – chemotherapy in the Princess’s case – has been “comforting and reassuring”.
The King is understood to have visited the Princess soon after arriving at the London Clinic in January for a planned procedure on an enlarged prostate, when his own cancer was discovered.
The Princess was recovering in the private London hospital following abdominal surgery and her condition was not thought to have been cancerous until later tests revealed that “cancer had been present”.
The source added: “There were other visits when they were both in there together and they have been in contact ever since. They can both empathise with what the other is going through, which does help at a difficult time like this. What we’ve seen in recent weeks is that because they are both going through the same health experience it’s cemented that bond.”
One of the reasons the Princess agreed to record the video message is because she felt “encouraged by how warmly the King’s public statement on his health was received, and the positive impact it has had on others going through the same thing”. Although Prince William is understood to have had reservations and questioned “why she should have to explain herself”, Kate apparently resolved that it was the only way to take complete ownership of the news.
“She’s got a steely determination inside her,” said one source who knows her well. “Once she’s put her mind to something, there’s no stopping her. She’s tough.”
Buckingham Palace released a statement on Friday expressing how the King is “so proud of Catherine for her courage” in speaking out.
The statement added that he has “remained in the closest contact with his beloved daughter-in-law throughout the past weeks,” and that he and his wife, the Queen, “will continue to offer their love and support to the whole family through this difficult time”.
The Princess’s announcement came six weeks after the King paused his public appearances following his own cancer diagnosis.
Some have questioned why it took Kensington Palace so long to break the news – which the couple received at the end of February. Yet as the Princess carefully explained, it took time to come to terms with the “huge shock”, not to mention working out how to “explain everything to George, Charlotte and Louis”.
As one Palace insider explained: “The timing priorities were wholly different for the Princess because her primary audience was always going to be an audience of three children rather than millions. His constitutional obligations meant he couldn’t keep it private.”
The Queen, 76, who has two children and five grandchildren is understood to have been “checking in on” the Princess and offering advice on how to handle the media storm.
“The Queen hasn’t gone through cancer but she has raised children in the face of a feeding frenzy so can empathise on that front,” added the insider.
According to those familiar with their relationship, the King has always had a “soft spot” for the Princess. “It’s a different relationship to the one he has with his son because he’s not just pa-in-law, he is also the King,” explained one insider. “She does often turn to him for guidance on royal matters, but not family matters – she has William for that and her own parents Michael and Carole, to whom she is extremely close.
“He’s not a father figure as such – she’s got her own dad to whom she’s absolutely devoted – but you could say the King treats her like the daughter he never had. You see it in the pictures of them together. That relationship is best summed up in those fascinating moments when she greets him first with a kiss and then with a curtsey.”
Having endured a difficult marriage to Diana, Princess of Wales from whom he separated in 1992 before divorcing in 1996, the King has always supported his eldest son and heir’s desire to prioritise immediate family over the family Firm.
When William, 41, announced he would be taking a step back from public duties to support his wife’s recuperation, he did it with his father’s blessing. And amid the adversity, the King and the heir to the throne appear closer than they have ever been.
It is not just a case of them working “in lock step” as King and future king on royal matters since the death of Queen Elizabeth II. The Megxit saga – with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex having launched repeated salvos against them, their wives and the institution of monarchy since they stepped down as senior royals in 2020 – has apparently strengthened their relationship as father and son too.
It hasn’t always been an easy relationship. In 2017, when the world was commemorating the 20th anniversary of his mother’s death, Prince William was reluctant to acknowledge his father’s role in his and Prince Harry’s upbringing following the Paris car crash in 1997. The King’s aides “begged” Prince William to give him the nod when he addressed journalists before the screening of the ITV documentary Diana, Our Mother: Her Life And Legacy in 2017, but he flatly refused.
As the royal author Penny Junor explained: “Diana shared an awful lot of her misery with William.” It was left to Prince Harry to say some kind words about their father.
That episode came after relations between the King and Prince William fell to an all-time low when a previously unseen photograph of George inadvertently appeared in a video broadcast featuring the King. According to insiders, Prince William “hit the roof”.
Yet it seems their shared pain over Prince Harry (and Meghan’s) behaviour has helped to bring them back together. As well as having to manage the fallout from Oprah Winfrey, Netflix and Spare, they spent a great deal of time together preparing for the late Queen’s funeral, the Coronation and Prince William’s transition to heir to the throne.
The royal grandchildren have also been a source of mutual delight.
Just as marriage and fatherhood has been the making of Prince William, becoming a grandparent has helped the workaholic King to mellow a little – something his son had been demanding for some time. As the Prince told a documentary to mark the King’s 70th birthday in 2018: “I think now he’s reached his 70th year, it’s a perfect time to consolidate a little bit because, as most families would do, you are worried about having them around and making sure their health is okay. So, having more time with him at home would be lovely, and being able to, you know, play around with the grandchildren. When he’s there, he’s brilliant, but we need him there as much as possible.”
Little did he know that he would now be having to cope with both his father and his wife being diagnosed with cancer at the same time. As they continue their cancer treatment, Prince William can at least rest assured that the King and the Princess have got each other to lean on as they face one of life’s biggest challenges, together.
King Charles’s bond with his beloved Catherine has never been stronger
The King and the Princess of Wales are leaning on each other as they face one of life’s biggest challenges, say insiders