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Prince William’s heartbreaking call after Kate's cancer diagnosis

Prince William’s heartbreaking call after Kate's cancer diagnosis

A former aide to the Prince of Wales has revealed that he was at his "lowest" after his wife Princess Kate was diagnosed with cancer about a year ago

In an interview with 60 Minutes Australia, Jason Knauf, who was the chief executive of William and Kate’s Royal Foundation, revealed the phone call he shared with the Prince of Wales, after Kate's cancer diagnosis last year. 

"It was awful, absolutely awful. It's the lowest I've ever seen him.

"Within a couple of weeks, if you're Prince William, you find out that both your wife and your father have cancer. I couldn't believe it."

Princess Kate is now in remission, while King Charles receives ongoing treatment. 

The Princess of Wales' diagnosis was made public in March last year, with Knauf recalling: “But the problem was that all this crazy conspiracy theory stuff kicked off in the background, online. ‘Was she really ill?’.

“But they didn’t want to say yet that she had cancer because they hadn’t told the children and they were still working through how to tell the children.”

Knauf stepped down from his position at the end of 2021. He also previously worked for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex as their communications secretary. 

The Prince of Wales previously told reporters at the end of his visit to South Africa in November last year, that 2024 had been  “the hardest year" of his life. 

"Honestly? It's been dreadful. It's probably been the hardest year in my life. So, trying to get through everything else and keep everything on track has been really difficult," he told the BBC at the time. 

“But I’m so proud of my wife, I’m proud of my father, for handling the things that they have done. But from a personal family point of view, it’s been brutal.”

Image: 60 Minutes/ Instagram

 

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