LONDON (AP) ā The double health announcements from Britain's royal family ā on Kate, the Princess of Wales' abdominal surgery and King Charles III's prostate treatment ā have put a spotlight on the private lives of the U.K.'s senior royals.
Details of royal health are always a tricky issue in Britain, because members of the royal family are private individuals but also, in a sense, public property. Charles, 75, is head of state, and Kate, 42, is destined to be queen when her husband succeeds his father on the throne.
The brief press statements on the health scares were so unusual that they dominated Thursdayās newspaper frontpages, with headlines calling them āroyal health bombshells.ā
The disclosure of Charles and Kates' health details was seen by some royal observers as a sign that the monarchy is adapting to modern communications after centuries of staying tight-lipped about health matters.
WHAT WAS ANNOUNCED?
Royal officials announced Wednesday that Kate had undergone āplannedā abdominal surgery and was expected to remain in the private London Clinic for 10 to 14 days. She is not expected to resume public duties until April.
The princessā office at Kensington Palace didnāt offer further details, but said her condition wasnāt cancerous. Though she has generally experienced good health and is seen as fit and sporty, Kate was hospitalized while in the early stages of pregnancy because of severe morning sickness.
William, who is heir to the throne, also has postponed some official duties so he can devote time to his wife and their three children. He visited his wife on Thursday, and British media reported that the was ādoing well.ā
Soon after the announcement of Kateās hospitalization, Buckingham Palace said that will undergo a ācorrective procedureā for an enlarged prostate next week. The palace said the kingās condition is benign. Queen Camilla said Thursday that Charles was āfineā and ālooking forward to getting back to work.ā
A HISTORY OF SECRECY
When British monarchs had real power, news of illness was withheld for fear it might weaken their authority. The habit of secrecy lingered after royals became constitutional figureheads.
The British public was not told that Charles' grandfather, King George VI, had lung cancer before his death in February 1952 at the age of 56, and some historians have claimed the king himself was not told he was terminally ill. The public death announcement said only that the king had āpassed peacefully away in his sleep.ā
His father, King George V, died in 1936 after suffering from heart and lung disease. Half a century later, diary extracts were published revealing that the kingās physician had injected the terminally ill monarch with morphine and cocaine to speed his death ā partly so it could be announced in the morning newspapers ārather than the less appropriate evening journals.ā
GREATER OPENNESS?
The U.K. and international media have been focused on the health of Britainās senior royals in recent years as the late Queen Elizabeth II faded from public view during the last months of her 70-year reign.
Even then, few specific details were released about the late monarchās condition. The public was told only that the queen was suffering from āmobility issues.ā The cause of her death in September 2022 at the age of 96 was listed on the death certificate simply as āold age.ā
Wednesday's announcements gave more details than the public would have expected in the past.
Some royal observers said that while the latest statement on Kate was coy and shrouded in some secrecy, the one on Charles showed that the monarch was keen to try a new and more open kind of communication.
The publicity was seen as a decision by Charles to boost awareness of prostate health and encourage other men to have their prostates checked.
āI think it symbolizes the kind of campaigning king that Charles is ā he wants to put this issue on the agenda by being quite open and candid,ā Ed Owens, a royal historian and author, told The Associated Press. āWe know that King Charles wants to talk about issues of personal significance ā and there's nothing more significant or personal to him than his health.ā
Releasing the news about both royals on the same day was essentially about news management, Owens added. While Kate's condition sounded more serious, the king's can be seen as a āpositive news story to complement a more complicated one in the case of Catherine's health,ā he said.
āIt means that we havenāt got the the story rolling on about what exactly (Kate's) been suffering from. Rather, we are instead talking about King Charles III and him wanting to set a good example to other men his age,ā Owens said.
āKINGāS PUBLIC HEALTH MESSAGE'
One headline dubbed the release of Charlesā health details the āKingās public health message.ā It's worked: Prostate Cancer UK, a charity that promotes public awareness of prostate health, says there has been a surge of interest in its work thanks to the royal announcements.
āWe have been receiving lots of calls from men and women that are concerned about they and their loved ones, wanting to talk about their prostate problems and signs and symptoms,ā said Sophie Smith, a senior specialist nurse at the charity.
An enlarged prostate is common in men over age 50. The condition affects how one urinates, and isnāt usually a serious health threat. Itās not cancer and doesnāt lead to an increased risk of developing prostate cancer.
āItās about having that conversation and getting that conversation started," Smith added. "We know that men often donāt talk about it, they donāt sit with their mates and say, āIāve getting problems going to the toilet.ā Itās something quite personal, a bit taboo,ā she added.
Sylvia Hui And Jill Lawless, The Associated Press
