Let’s address the C word—not coronation, but cancer! The royal family is not new to the deadly disease affecting millions worldwide. Last year, two supremely important royal family members were diagnosed with cancer. First, Buckingham Palace confirmed in February 2024 that King Charles III, 75, had been diagnosed with cancer. The illness was discovered during a routine procedure on January 17 to treat an enlarged prostate.
While the palace has not revealed the specific type or stage of the cancer, it clarified that it is not prostate cancer. The 76-year-old king began his treatment immediately. While everyone was just merely processing this shocking news, next in line was Princess Kate Middleton, who also became the victim of cancer.
As per Town & Country, the Princess of Wales had an important abdominal surgery on January 16, 2024, and was diagnosed with cancer soon after. Her postoperative tests found cancer in the body, and a spokesperson said that “a course of preventive chemotherapy” had already begun. Kate Middleton announced her diagnosis in a video post to the world on March 22, 2024, as everyone grasped it in disbelief. In the video, she mentioned that the diagnosis was a “huge shock.” She credited her husband, Prince William, for his incredible support.
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While Middleton’s prolonged absence from the media and royal duties sparked a series of assumptions and questions from people who loved her, in July 2024, she was spotted at the Wimbledon men’s final. Soon after, on September 9, 2025, she announced that her cancer was in remission.
While Princess Kate and King Charles have had their fair share of battles with cancer, did you know that several others across the royal clan have faced various forms of cancer? Sarah Ferguson, 64, recently shared that she has been diagnosed with malignant melanoma, a form of skin cancer, which is her second cancer diagnosis in less than a year.
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In an Instagram post dated January 21, she wrote, “I have been taking some time to myself as I have been diagnosed with malignant melanoma, a form of skin cancer—my second cancer diagnosis within a year after I was diagnosed with breast cancer this summer and underwent a mastectomy and reconstructive surgery.”
Meanwhile, according to royal biographer Gyles Brandreth’s book Elizabeth: An Intimate Portrait, Queen Elizabeth II reportedly suffered from myeloma, a form of bone marrow cancer, towards the end of her last days.
The Queen died on September 8, 2022, at 96. In the book, Brandreth wrote, “I had heard that the Queen had a form of myeloma—bone marrow cancer—which would explain her tiredness, weight loss, and those ‘mobility issues’ we were often told about during the last year or so of her life.” (via The New York Times)
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If you need a minute to grasp your breath and wipe your tears, take it! But there are more members in the family who succumbed to this fatal disease. In 1966, the Queen Mother was treated for colon cancer, and in 1984, she was diagnosed with breast cancer, undergoing a lumpectomy. Despite these health battles, she lived till 101 and died in 2002.
Similarly, the Duke of Windsor, King Edward VIII, who abdicated the throne in 1936 to marry Wallis Simpson, was diagnosed with throat cancer in 1971. A lifelong smoker, he underwent cobalt therapy and died in Paris on May 28, 1972, at 77. That’s not all, but in 1907, King Edward VII was diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma, a common form of skin cancer found near his nose. He received radium therapy and was reportedly cured. He died of unrelated causes in 1910 at age 68.
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Shocking, right? At this point, it feels like the royal family of Britain has closely been affected by this disease at one point in their lives. While the world was only obsessed with talking about Princess Kate and King Charles’ cancer, it’s reported that the daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, Princess Victoria, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1898. She died of the disease on August 5, 1901, at the age of 60.
Therefore, it’s evident that cancer has a lot to do with a family’s genes and lifestyle. It truly spares no one. The irony of life is that no amount of money, fame, privileges, or status could serve anyone in the royal family with cancer. It reminds us of the COVID-19 pandemic, which spared no one—the rich, the poor, male or female.
In an interview with Fox News Digital, Dr. Nathan Goodyear, medical director at Brio Medical, a holistic cancer treatment center, highlighted the universal nature of cancer. “There is no family left untouched by cancer,” he said. “Cancer knows no preferences, whether left or right, conservative or liberal, upper class or lower class; cancer shows no leaning.”
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The esteemed individual said, “Whether royal or non-royal, look up, pray, and take heart—because hope is present, and when hope is present, healing is possible.” On that sad but true note, we want to say that we have said enough about cancer for today. I hope you take good care of yourself and have a happy weekend! Don’t forget to eat right, exercise, and thank the Almighty for this beautiful life.
