Prince William has formed an unlikely alliance with his “wicked stepmother.”
Following Kate Middleton’s public announcement on Friday that she has cancer and is undergoing chemotherapy, several royal experts claimed to Fox News Digital that the Prince of Wales has gotten closer to Queen Camilla. His stepmother is married to King Charles III, who is also battling cancer.
“William, I believe, has seen the value of Queen Camilla, especially at a time like this when she has been stalwart in supporting King Charles not only at home but also dramatically increasing the public engagements she has attended,” said royal expert Ian Pelham Turner.
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Britain’s Queen Camilla (left) and Prince William, Prince of Wales, attend the 2024 Commonwealth Day Service at Westminster Abbey on March 11, 2024, in London, England. (Henry Nicholls – WPA Pool)
“[It has brought] a very popular and harmonious response from those whom she has met,” he shared. “At a time like this, the values of family members and how they respond… in a time of crisis bring closeness. William will be grateful and mindful of that, too.”
“I think over the past few years, Camilla has shown by her dedication to Charles and the monarchy that an admiration has grown for her energy,” Pelham Turner continued. “[Camilla’s] ability and commonsense approach has made William come to terms with his father’s decision to marry the woman he has loved since the death of Diana, Princess of Wales.”
A source told the U.K.’s Mirror that the prince, 41, and queen, 76, have had regular phone conversations in recent weeks as they support each other during tough times.
Several royal experts told Fox News Digital that Queen Camilla and Prince William have formed an unlikely alliance as their spouses battle cancer. (Henry Nicholls – WPA Pool)
Middleton disclosed her condition in a video message recorded Wednesday at Windsor and broadcast Friday. It came after relentless speculation on social media since January when the mother of three was hospitalized for unspecified abdominal surgery.
The news is another jolt for the royal family since the announcement last month that the king, 75, was being treated for an unspecified type of cancer. The disease was discovered while he was undergoing a procedure for a benign enlarged prostate.
Like Middleton, 42, the king hasn’t revealed what type of cancer he has or the stage at which it’s being treated.
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Charles said he is “so proud of Catherine for her courage in speaking as she did,” according to a statement released by Buckingham Palace. The king, who received prostate treatment in the same hospital and at the same time Kate had her surgery, had remained in the “closest contact with his beloved daughter-in-law” in the past weeks.
The king and queen “will continue to offer their love and support to the whole family through this difficult time,” the palace said.
William and Camilla’s closeness may come as a surprise to some royal watchers. For decades, Camilla has been recognized by many as the woman at the heart of Charles’ doomed marriage to Diana.
Lady Diana Spencer (left) and Camilla Parker-Bowles (right) at Ludlow Races where the former Prince Charles was competing, circa 1980. (Express Newspapers/Archive Photos)
It took years for many in Britain to forgive Camilla, whose extramarital affair with Charles torpedoed his marriage to Diana, known as “the People’s Princess.” The glamorous young mother of William and his younger brother Prince Harry died in a Paris car crash in 1997, five years after her messy, public split from Charles. She was 36.
“Prince William grew up extremely close to and nurtured by his late mother,” British royals expert Hilary Fordwich told Fox News Digital. “He witnessed and was part of many of her saddest moments. He is known to have passed tissues under the bathroom door, saying, ‘Mummy, please don’t cry.’”
Fordwich has commended William, who is heir to the British throne, for putting aside any differences and instead, putting family first.
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King Charles is seen here at The London Clinic on Jan. 29 after undergoing a corrective procedure for a benign prostate enlargement. It was during this procedure that it was discovered he had cancer. (Max Mumby/Indigo)
“Seeing Camilla so dedicated to duty, he has developed a most accepting and indeed tender relationship with her,” said Fordwich. “Visible on many occasions, such as his father’s coronation and recently at a public engagement, their formerly strained relationship [has been put aside]… to support the king and Princess Catherine.”
Since Camilla married the king in 2005, she has taken on roles at more than 100 charities. And with her husband’s diagnosis, she has helped pick up the slack, taking on more public engagements.
Camilla’s new role as family supporter is a far cry from the woman Harry described in his 2023 memoir “Spare,” which details his grief over losing his mother and struggles with royal life.
In “Spare,” Prince Harry (right) said he and his brother Prince William begged their father not to marry Camilla. (Daniel Berehulak)
In his book, Harry wrote that he and William both “begged” their father not to marry Camilla, worried she would become a “wicked stepmother.” In televised interviews to promote his book, Harry accused Camilla of leaking private conversations to the media to burnish her own reputation.
“[Following Charles and Camilla’s marriage], neither William and Harry warmed towards her, but were willing to suck it up and play the game as long as Camilla made papa happy,” Christopher Andersen, author of “The King,” alleged to Fox News Digital.
“[The king] stuck to his promise, never to give Camilla the title of queen,” Andersen claimed. “William was completely blindsided when Charles broke that promise and Camilla was crowned queen alongside him. The relationship between William and Harry was already fractured at that point, but they shared a mutual distaste for Camilla.”
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Camilla was crowned queen at Westminster Abbey on May 06, 2023, in London, England. (Gareth Cattermole)
According to Andersen, things have changed behind palace doors between William and Camilla.
“In a practical sense, William needs Camilla to help share the burden that has unexpectedly been thrust upon him while his father and Kate recuperate,” Andersen explained. “But I also think William and Camilla are coming together over their shared concern for the man they both love.”
“And while Camilla and Kate were never particularly close – for years, Camilla lobbied behind the scenes against Kate becoming William’s bride – surely, the queen can emphasize with how hard the news about Kate must be hitting him,” Andersen alleged. “It’s a heartbreaking situation, but William and Kate are the two who really have to soldier on.”
From left: Queen Camilla, Prince William, Prince of Wales and Catherine, Princess of Wales attend the Ceremonial Welcome at Horse Guards Parade for President Cyril Ramaphosa on Day 1 of his state visit to the United Kingdom on November 22, 2022, in London, England. (Max Mumby/Indigo)
“Will William and Camilla ever be truly close? I sincerely doubt it,” Andersen admitted. “As Queen Elizabeth II’s cousin Margaret Rhodes once told me, relationships inside the palace ‘aren’t cozy. But the family wasn’t set up to be cozy.’”
Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams told Fox News Digital the pressures on both William and Camilla to keep the peace “are now intense.” And all eyes will continue to be on them.
“They need to step up in highly unenviable circumstances and [be a] rock to their spouses,” he said. “Situations like this can create lasting bonds.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
