Kate Middleton And King Charles' Dual Cancer Diagnoses Had One Major Benefit For Prince William
William, Prince of Wales, has reportedly found a silver lining in his wife, Catherine, Princess of Wales, and his father, King Charles III's, cancer diagnoses. The concurrent medical conditions have supposedly helped better William's infamously distant relationship with his stepmother, Queen Consort Camilla Parker Bowles. According to Prince Harry's tell-all memoir, "Spare," he and William never bore any ill feelings towards Camilla but the boys understandably weren't exactly on board with the idea of their dad marrying her.
They pleaded with Charles to keep her as just his partner, but as we all know, it was to no avail. Over the years, William and Camilla always appeared to share a rather formal relationship as they made official appearances together, and things supposedly weren't all that different behind closed doors. In royal author Angela Levin's book "Camilla: From Outcast to Queen Consort," she wrote that the prince never grew close to his mother-in-law, asserting, "She was more of a friendly grown-up they saw occasionally at royal gatherings."
Levin added, "She tried to be encouraging rather than influential," (via InStyle). Given all this, it's unsurprising that the prince reportedly didn't see her as a matriarchal figure to his own children. "William has made it clear that Camilla is the wife of his father, but not a step-grandmother to his children," Levin clarified. The royal biographer also noted that his words didn't really faze Camilla, and she remained rather distant from William's three kids. However, in the aftermath of the family's health battles, Camilla stepped up to the plate to help shoulder more royal responsibilities, and William developed a newfound respect for her.
William and Camilla have bonded over the similarity of their situations
Speaking to Fox News Digital, royal expert Ian Pelham Turner shared that William, Prince of Wales, had begun viewing Queen Consort Camilla Parker Bowles as a formidable figure amidst the king and Princess of Wales' concurrent cancer diagnoses. "William, I believe, has seen the value of Queen Camilla, especially at a time like this when she has been stalwart in supporting King Charles not only at home but also dramatically increasing the public engagements she has attended," Pelham Turner explained.
The royal expert noted that the prince was especially pleased with how much the general public demonstrably adored Camilla during their royal engagements. William has gradually grown to accept the queen consort as his father, King Charles III's, wife after watching Camilla stick with him through thick and thin. Similarly, Christopher Andersen, author of His Majesty's biography, "The King," informed the outlet that the Prince of Wales had bonded with his stepmother on both a practical and an emotional level.
William is also incredibly grateful that Camilla has taken on more royal duties because no one else could help him during these trying times. On a more personal level, the queen consort and her son-in-law were going through similar emotional journeys seeing their partners undergo cancer treatment. As former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond acknowledged to OK! magazine, William and Camilla had to put on strong fronts in public when they would've rather been with their loved ones offering them emotional support. Bond also noted that their teams could even be working to help them execute official duties more smoothly.
The queen consort negatively impacted William's life in the past
Although William, Prince of Wales, and Queen Consort Camilla Parker Bowles's relationship is apparently on the mend, it may take longer for them to get to greener pastures because of his previous grievances with her. Royal expert Hilary Fordwich reminded Fox News Digital that the young prince watched his beloved mom, Diana, Princess of Wales, suffer through the aftermath of Camilla and King Charles III's high-profile affair. As a result, he likely wasn't the biggest fan of his stepmother from the get-go.
Royal author Christopher Andersen elaborated that William wasn't expecting his father to bestow the title of queen onto his stepmother because he had promised never to do so. To make matters worse, Camilla reportedly played a part in William and Kate's 2007 split. When Andersen spoke to the Daily Beast in 2016, he claimed that Camilla initially didn't think that Catherine, Princess of Wales, would be a good fit for the royal family because of her relatively normal background.
"I was told at the time of the breakup, and later on as well, that Camilla basically whispered in Charles's ear that it was really time to make — to force — William to make a decision one way or the other," the author divulged. However, it seems like Kate Middleton and Camilla's relationship eventually recovered after this allegedly rocky start. Fortunately, the queen consort isn't William's only ally in these tough times because his relationship with his mother-in-law, Carole Middleton, seems stronger than ever.