LONDON — It’s probably a safe bet to say that 2024 is not a year on which Britain’s royal family “will look back with undiluted pleasure.”
That’s the phrase Queen Elizabeth II used at the end of 1992, a year in which three of her children were caught in scandals and a fire heavily damaged Windsor Castle.
Now her progeny have had another annus horribilis.
Prince William, whose father and wife were diagnosed with cancer, called 2024 the “hardest year” of his life. Queen Camilla, who had her own health challenges with a bout of pneumonia, reportedly told guests at a recent event that she’d be “glad to get to the end of the year.”
From serious health scares to wild conspiracy theories to (more) scandals involving Prince Andrew, the royals will probably be relieved to see 2024 in the rearview mirror.
Here are five reasons the past 12 months were tough for the House of Windsor:
1. King Charles III is diagnosed with cancer
In February, Buckingham Palace revealed that King Charles III had cancer and would be stepping back from public engagements, a bombshell announcement that came less than a year after his coronation. Charles returned to public duties in April, but with a scaled-back schedule. He is still undergoing treatment, but has been more active in the latter part of 2024, including hosting the emir of Qatar and touring Australia and Samoa. Palace officials say the king will return to a more complete program of engagements in 2025.
Charles, 76, used his annual Christmas Day message to offer “heartfelt thanks” to the medical staff who offered “strength, care and comfort” during cancer treatment.
2. Princess Catherine is diagnosed with cancer
Catherine, Princess of Wales, revealed her own cancer diagnosis in March. Kate, as she is also called, suspended her royal duties to receive treatment. The 42-year-old mother of three released an unusually intimate video in September saying she had finished chemotherapy and was seeking to “stay cancer-free” after nine months that had been “incredibly tough for us as a family.” She has gradually returned to her public role, including hosting a Christmas carol service at Westminster Abbey.
3. A family photo draws scrutiny
Kate’s absence from the public eye early in the year promoted an online storm of conspiracy theories about her whereabouts and well-being. Kensington Palace released a Mother’s Day photo of Kate and her children, no doubt in an effort to quell concerns. But it had the opposite effect when news agencies asked clients to stop using the photo amid concerns it had been manipulated, a violation of journalistic standards. Kate apologized: “Like many amateur photographers,” she said in a statement, she had “experiment[ed] with editing.”
The incident provoked wider discussions about expectations of celebrity perfection and issues of privacy for public figures.
4. Prince Andrew’s scandals don’t go away
Prince Andrew, the king’s scandal-hit younger brother, was named in several legal disputes. In January, allegations that Andrew had sexually assaulted a teenager trafficked to him by the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein received a fresh airing in a court case involving Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s former partner. Andrew has denied any wrongdoing.
The public was reminded of the allegations again by a pair of documentaries that revisited his calamitous interview with the BBC’s “Newsnight.”
He also featured in a court case involving an alleged Chinese spy who reportedly sought to forge links with the prince to gather intelligence on British elites on behalf of the Chinese state. This incident could further diminish any chance of Andrew’s reintegrating into royal life. He was noticeably absent from the royal family’s annual Christmas Day walk to church.
5. Relations with Prince Harry remain strained
Prince Harry made several trips to Britain this year, but the rift between Harry and his family shows little sign of mending. The day after Charles’s cancer diagnosis, Harry made a transatlantic dash to London to see his father, but they reportedly spent less than an hour together. During the funeral of Lord Robert Fellowes, Harry and William’s maternal uncle, the brothers were seated separately. When Harry visited Britain in May to celebrate a decade of the Invictus Games, he did not meet with his father, Harry’s office said, because of the king’s “full” schedule.
