Royal family Christmas: King Charles continues cancer treatment and Prince Andrew brings more controversy
Hello, royal followers. This is your regular dose of royal news and analysis. Are you reading this online? Register here to have it delivered to your inbox.
The royal family gathers for Christmas festivities. But amid the celebrations, there will be lingering concerns for King Charles’ health as he continues to undergo cancer treatment – and a notable absence caused by a high-profile controversy involving an alleged Chinese spy.
It was revealed on Friday that Charles, who was diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer earlier this year, will continue his treatment in 2025.
“His treatment is progressing positively and as a controlled condition, the treatment cycle will continue next year,” a Buckingham Palace source said, according to Reuters.
A palace source said there was no change in Charles’ health and the news that his treatment would continue in 2025 did not represent any significant news.
But his pre-Christmas schedule was indicative of his determination to keep busy. His events culminated in a visit to the London borough of Walthamstow on Friday, which featured a major counter-protest in response to nationwide riots in August.
During the visit, Charles was asked how he was doing. “I’m still alive,” he jokingly replied. This was reported by Sky News.
Ont. Justin Vovk, a royal commentator and sessional history professor at McMaster University in Hamilton, said royal officials are “still very mum” about Charles’ cancer, but “the fact that he’s still doing public affairs shows that at least his health is under control to some extent.”
For Charles, continued focus on public duties appears to be a high priority.
“For the Kings, it’s part of their core values,” Vovk said in an interview Friday.
“The job is to go out and meet people, interact with people.”
It’s been a tough year for the Kings – Prince William called it “brutal”. – because both his father, Charles, and his wife, Catherine, Princess of Wales, were diagnosed with cancer.
Catherine of Wales, Princess of Wales, said in a video released by Kensington Palace on Monday that the past nine months had been “incredibly difficult” for her family, but that she was now in a “new stage of recovery” after undergoing chemotherapy that enabled her. attend some public meetings in the coming months.
At the end of the summer, Catherine said, she finished her preventive chemotherapy treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer.
Since then, he has gradually returned to public duties with limited appearances at high-profile events.
Catherine’s announcement that she had completed her treatment came in a video, and a photo from the video appeared on her family’s Christmas card this year.
He also held the fourth annual Christmas Carol service at Westminster Abbey in London on December 6. The service will be televised in the UK on Christmas Eve.
William, Catherine and their children – Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis – are expected to spend Christmas with other members of the royal family at Charles’s Sandringham Estate in north-east London. They did not attend the pre-Christmas dinner at Buckingham Palace this week and According to the media they were already at their country house near Sandringham.
Family members are closely watched on their way to church on Christmas morning, who is there and who is not, as well as who goes with whom and what they can say about the relationships within the family.
A notable absence is expected this year – Prince Andrew, Charles’ younger brother.
The British press reported on this this week Andrew will not be at Sandringhamand he He did not attend the pre-Christmas dinner at Buckingham Palace between Claims of a close friendship with an alleged Chinese spy.
This is just the latest example of the controversy his associations have caused. His reputation sank like a stone aand stepped down from royal duties after a disastrous 2019 BBC interview about her friendship with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
But she has continued to attend high-profile royal family events, so her absence from Christmas events this year is notable.
But it is not surprising that it did not happen, Vovk considered it a family decision.
“Many people, myself included, predicted that we would see less and less of Andrew after (Queen Elizabeth’s) death,” Vovk said.
“It’s been a little slower than I expected, but given all the controversy, all the drama surrounding Prince Andrew and the desire of the King and Prince of Wales to distance themselves… from this scandalous stain, as the monarchy always does… I don’t think they’re going to put him in there I’m not surprised.”
Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, and their children, who live in California, will also be absent from the royal Christmas celebration.
Harry and Meghan released a Christmas card this week It included a picture of Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet running towards their parents. It was a rare public viewing of a picture of children who had been kept out of the public eye.
“When you look at Harry’s upbringing and the undeniable trauma he’s endured … it’s a natural decision for me,” Vovk said, noting that the two wanted to protect their children from excessive media scrutiny.
In the card, Vovk also saw an effort “to very deliberately manage or create a more accessible image of a happy family, a united couple and the public around them.”
He also saw a contrast with the image on the card from William and Catherine.
“It’s one of the most informal and relaxed family portraits (of the Royal Family) of any generation that I think we’ve ever seen.”
The Royal Family Christmas gathering at Sandringham is expected to be a big affair with Prince William He noted that 45 people will participate.
Toronto-based author and historian Carolyn Harris says Christmas is an important time for the royal family.
“Their Christmas traditions date back to Queen Victoria’s time, including Christmas trees popularized by Prince Albert, and focus on multiple generations of the royal family enjoying family festivities together,” Harris said via email last week.
“The royal family opens presents on Christmas Eve in keeping with tradition from Germany, birthplace of Prince Albert and Denmark, birthplace of Queen Alexandra, wife of King Edward VII.”
Royal weddings have brought new family Christmas traditions, including Catherine serving Queen Elizabeth a homemade chutney from a Middleton family recipe on her first Christmas with her family.
“Although Christmas is an important family occasion, it is one of the rare times when the monarch speaks directly to the public through a televised Christmas message.”
Queen Elizabeth wanted large family gatherings at Christmas, and there was speculation that there would be smaller gatherings at Christmas under Charles, who favored an otherwise slimmed-down royal family.
But this is not proven to be the case. This year, new guests are expected with the participation of Tom Parker Bowles, the son of Queen Camilla from her first marriage.
Parker Bowles’ presence is no surprise to Vovk, who notes that the make-up of the royal family is no different from that of many other families.
“I think a lot of us sometimes forget that the royal family is a blended family, the Queen is a mother and grandmother and there is a Christmas gathering at Sandringham, but even though it’s a royal event, it’s still technically a family Christmas tradition.” he said.
“So why shouldn’t Camilla’s children and grandchildren be there with their mother and grandmother for the holidays?”
It should come as no surprise, Vovk suggested, that the royal family’s Christmas traditions change from year to year.
“Over time, these small ritual changes, or ceremonial changes, then lead to larger changes that very slowly turn the boat around without rocking it too much.”
Register here Get The Royal Fascinator newsletter in your inbox every Friday.
I am always happy to hear from you. Submit your questions, ideas, comments, feedback and notes royalfascinator@cbc.ca. Having problems with the newsletter? Please let me know of any bugs, errors or mistakes.
English