King Charles to Queen Elizabeth: Tracing cancer diagnosis in royals
Buckingham Palace recently announced that King Charles III has been diagnosed with cancer. This news came shortly after a routine procedure on January 17 for an enlarged prostate. The palace has not disclosed the type or stage of cancer, only stating that it isn't prostate cancer. Unfortunately, behind the opulent palace walls, several British royal members have valiantly confronted cancer over the years. We take a look at it.
Sarah Ferguson's battle with malignant melanoma
Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, recently shared her skin cancer diagnosis just months after overcoming breast cancer treatments. In an Instagram post, the 64-year-old author wrote, "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." The writer and media personality was once married to Prince Andrew—brother of King Charles—and they divorced in 1996.
Queen Elizabeth II's struggle with painful bone marrow cancer
A biography by Gyles Brandreth titled Elizabeth: An Intimate Portrait revealed that Queen Elizabeth II battled myeloma—a painful bone marrow cancer—during her final years. Her diagnosis wasn't revealed when she was alive. Brandreth wrote that this would explain her "tiredness, weight loss and mobility issues during her last years." Royal expert Hilary Fordwich noted that the queen loved horse riding but had to stop due to her illness. She passed away on September 8, 2022, at the age of 96.
Queen Mother's diagnosis was never made public, either
Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, reigned as the Queen of the UK and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 1936 to 1952. In 1966, she was diagnosed with colon cancer, which led her to undergo surgery for tumor removal as detailed in The Queen Mother: The Official Biography. She later faced breast cancer and a lump was removed in 1984. Her cancer diagnosis was not made public during her lifetime. She died at the age of 101.
Other British royals diagnosed with cancer
King George VI, Queen Elizabeth II's father, was diagnosed with lung cancer in 1951 and died aged 56 in 1952. And, King Edward VIII (Queen Elizabeth II's uncle) died from throat cancer in 1972. He became king for only a year before abdicating the throne in order to marry the divorcee Wallis Simpson. King Edward VII had basal-cell carcinoma (aka skin cancer), while Princess Victoria—daughter of Queen Victoria—suffered from breast cancer.
