London: The news just kept on coming. First, Catherine, the Princess of Wales, is to spend two weeks in hospital after abdominal surgery and is unlikely to return to public duty before Easter.
Then, less than 90 minutes later, an announcement that King Charles is to have an operation for a newly diagnosed enlarged prostate, also leaving him temporarily out of action.
What a shock for followers of royal news, and what a worry for a concerned nation who hold the royal family in their thoughts. And, it must be said, what admirable honesty from the two senior generations of the Royal family, who have clearly made peace with their sometimes complicated public roles.
King Charles and Catherine, Princess of Wales, are undergoing medical treatment.Credit: AP
For this level of openness, crafted via Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace statements, is unprecedented.
Charles has said he wanted to share his diagnosis to encourage other men to check their own health. If he manages to save one life, drawing attention to symptoms which, in his case, were thankfully benign but are not always so, he would be justified in feeling it was worth it.
Catherine, who has faced public scrutiny since she met Prince William, has similarly tackled her health concerns head-on, in a statement giving enough detail to help the public understand her necessary absence without going into excessive detail.
She knows more than anyone how much speculation the announcement of “planned abdominal surgery” will bring: how many column inches handed over to “experts” on medical diagnoses from afar; how many speculative conversations across the country; and – sad to say – how much social media trolling from the usual suspects accompanying anything she ventures to say and do.
The description of abdominal surgery will pique the attention of women across the land who have endured procedures of their own, with all the pain, fright, grief and misplaced twinges of shame such issues can bring. Not to mention the logistical challenges of shielding young children from worrying about their mother in hospital, and keeping the domestic show on the road.
This honesty from the royal family could herald new era of openness
12
0
18.01.2024
London: The news just kept on coming. First, Catherine, the Princess of Wales, is to spend two weeks in hospital after abdominal surgery and is unlikely to return to public duty before Easter.
Then, less than 90 minutes later, an announcement that King Charles is to have an operation for a newly diagnosed enlarged prostate, also leaving him temporarily out of action.
What a shock for followers of royal news, and what a worry for a concerned nation who hold the royal family in their thoughts. And, it must be said,........
© The Sydney Morning Herald
visit website
login
who are we?
contact us
qosheapp
Toi Staff
Gideon Levy
Belen Fernandez
Rami G Khouri
Mort Laitner
Donald Low
Ali Fathollah-Nejad
Nikkei Editorial
