Prince William talks about ‘brutal’ 2024 after King Charles and Kate Middleton were diagnosed with cancer

Prince William described 2024 as “horrible” and “probably the hardest year of my life”, highlighting the impact of both his father And wife’s cancer diagnosis. The Prince of Wales, 42, shared these thoughts during an interview with reporters on November 7 following his visit to Cape Town, South Africa, to celebrate his Earthshot Prize.

“To be honest, it was terrible,” he said. “It was probably the most difficult year of my life. So trying to get through everything else and keep everything on track was really difficult. But I’m so proud of my wife, I’m so proud of my father for dealing with what they did. But from a personal family point of view it was… yes, it was cruel,” reports People.

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The royal family’s health problems began in February when Buckingham Palace announced King Charles Diagnosis of cancer in III. Next month Catherine, Princess of Walesrevealed that she was undergoing prophylactic chemotherapy. September 9 Kate announced the end of treatment.

When asked about Kate’s current condition, William confirmed that she was “fine.” Responding to comments that I should appear relaxed, he retorted: “I couldn’t be less relaxed this year, so it’s very interesting that you all see that.” He added: “But it’s more of a case of just getting on with it and keeping going. I like my job, I like to take care of myself and make sure that I have time for my family too.”

During the interview, William also discussed his role as Prince of Wales, which he took on after Death of Queen Elizabeth September 8, 2022. When asked about his increased responsibilities within the royal establishment, he responded candidly, according to People: “This is a difficult question. Do I like more responsibility? No. Do I like the freedom of being able to build something like Earthshot? Then yes. And this is the future for me. Given my role and my platform, it is very important that I do something for the greater good. That I help people live and do something truly meaningful.”

Although the Prince of Wales admitted that he is not sure whether his children will Prince George11, Princess Charlotte9 and Prince LouisThe 6-year-old watched the Earthshot Prize Awards, which were broadcast live on YouTube, and said: “I hope they did it.” He also shared lighter family moments, including his daughter Charlotte’s first reaction to his new beard: “Charlotte didn’t like it the first time. I have streams of tears, my first tears, so I’ll have to shave them off. And then I grew it back. I thought, ‘Wait a second,’ and convinced her everything would be fine.”

William expressed both pride and disappointment about his environmental initiative, the Earthshot Prize. “We created something from scratch. This is a global environmental award. It takes time, it takes a lot of effort. It takes a lot of balancing act to do it right,” he said.

The conversation revealed emotional moments during his visit to Cape Town, with William admitting he got “excited” when he heard “Circle of Life” performed on Table Mountain. “Listening to The Lion King and stuff like that gives me a lot of emotion,” he shared. “So when they started singing and…we were all there and it happened, I felt really emotional.” He added: “But the most important thing is the impact now. We need to turn the efforts we make into the appearance of a prize and, in particular, into the appearance of solutions.”

King Charles continues to receive outpatient treatment for an undiagnosed form of cancer and plans to resume fuller work and increase international travel next year. Meanwhile, Kate has begun returning to public life, recently meeting with emergency services and parents affected by a July stabbing attack in Southport, England.