In the end it turned out that Caterina was not dead, nor in a coma, nor had aliens taken her to a distant planet, nor had she had plastic surgery, nor had the palace been created with the help of intelligence artificial intelligence a double to replace it in the photos and videos of the last few days. All pure rumours, gossip, speculation from a press and social networks addicted to gossip. The reality was something as ordinary and that affects so many millions of people in the world like a cancer.
The whole establishment has rallied around Catherine – the pretty face of the British monarchy, its future, Diana’s heir in many ways – from politicians (Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, the leader of the Labor opposition Keir Starmer) to the mass press, although some had subtly participated in the intrusion into his private life, throwing the stone and hiding his hand. Like, for example, echoing a hypothetical affair between Guillem and the aristocrat Rose Hanbury (whose existence or not is another story), even if it was to attribute the rumors to others. In modern journalism everyone is after clicks, readers and audience, there are no innocent saints.
The widespread desire to protect the sick princess, added to a certain feeling of guilt for having criticized and put her against the ropes, means that for the moment in Great Britain almost no one does not publicly ask why neither Catherine herself nor the palace did not correct at any time, in the last two months, the initial statement that he had undergone an “intervention for a non-cancerous problem”. The emphasis that it was not cancer was maintained from January 17 until Friday, when the timeline makes it clear that the wife of the heir to the throne has been receiving chemotherapy for weeks.
Since he has revealed that he suffers from cancer, wouldn’t it be relevant to explain what type it is, what the prognosis is and to explain what disease the original operation was due to? And the same with King Charles III? The Windsors, after all, live off the public purse, taxpayers pay for their travel, their security and their fabulous lifestyle, and it’s normal to demand transparency from them.
For the British royal family, 2024 is shaping up to be a nouannus horribilis, as Elizabeth II christened it in 1992 in view of the explosion of the marital problems of Charles and Diana, of Andrew and Sara Ferguson, and of Princess Anne, of separations, divorces and infidelities, to which was added a spectacular fire at Windsor Castle. The queen is no longer there, thirty-two years have passed, everyone has grown older and now there are diseases. The aura of near-immortality that hovered over the Windsors has suddenly vanished, they are now, in that sense, like everyone else.
It will take some time, after the initial instinct to protect Charles and Catherine, to see the impact of this horrific year on the popularity and future of the British royal family. Even if they keep their distance and surround themselves in an aura of mystery, they need to be visible. But they currently lack enough cash to fulfill all obligations, and what seemed like a problem of a few months is now more of a medium or long-term problem.
Elizabeth II’s goal in the last years of her reign, assumed by Charles III after acceding to the throne, was to “thin” the monarchy and eliminate peripheral characters to save money and centralize everything in a hard core formed by kings and the princes of Wales, with the dukes of Edinburgh (Edward and Sofia) and Anne in secondary roles. But it is not that he has lost weight, but that he has remained in the bones and without substitutes who can row.
The king and Catherine, as much as they say they want to go back to work, are on indefinite leave, with no timetable for their return; Camilà is doing what she can, and in recent days she has visited the Isle of Man and Belfast for official events, but she is 76 years old and has shown that she will not be able to maintain this pace for long; Enric has offered to help, but his brother Guillem (who is not spoken to) does not want to know anything about his presence; Meghan discarded, due to enmity with her sister-in-law and after having accused the family of racism; Anna is also older, and Andreu is marginalized by the accusations of sexual abuse that weigh on him. And the Windsors do not have a squad like that of Barça, which, if it suffers losses, can turn to Lamine Yamal or Pau Cubarsí.
The illness of Catherine (42 years old) has highlighted her importance for the royal family, not only because of the work she undertakes, but because of the admiration she arouses for her posture, presence, style, discretion and role as mother of future kings Shows of affection on the sidelines, the institution misses her and right now has no one who can replace her. When Charles III was crowned last May, everything pointed to a smooth transition and the acceleration of the modernization process of the monarchy. No one imagined that nine months later he and Caterina would have serious illnesses. But things come as they come and life throws poisoned darts at everyone, royals or ordinary citizens.