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LONDON: King Charles III’s decision to be open about his cancer diagnosis has helped the new monarch connect with the people of Britain and strengthened the monarchy in the year since his dazzling coronation at Westminster Abbey.Charles has used his illness to highlight the need for early diagnosis and treatment, showing leadership at a time of personal hardship. And in the process, people have begun to see him as a more flesh-and-blood character who faces the same challenges as them, not just an archetype of wealth and privilege.“Ultimately, the great leveler is health,” said Anna Whitelock, a professor of the history of the monarchy at City University, London. “And the fact is, the royal family, like so many other families, are coping with a cancer diagnosis. And I think that has … taken the energy out of big challenges to the king.’’Questions still remain. Can a 1,000-year-old inherited monarchy represent the people of modern Britain? How will the institution address concerns about its links to empire and slavery? Should the monarchy be replaced with an elected head of state?But for now, at least, those issues have been largely set aside as the 75-year-old king undergoes treatment for an undisclosed type of cancer.Of all the things experts expected the royal family to face in the year following Charles’ coronation, the events of the last five months took Britain by surprise.First, Charles was treated for an enlarged prostate, then he revealed his cancer diagnosis. That was followed quickly by the announcement that the Princess of Wales, Prince William’s wife, Kate, also had cancer.Both retreated from public duties to focus on their health.William followed suit so he could support his wife and the couple’s three young children.It was not just the septuagenarian monarch who was ill, but the much younger future queen. Her spouse needed to help out. Suddenly the royal family seemed much more vulnerable, more human.With three senior royals out of action, the Windsors were stretched thin as they tried to keep up with the perpetual whirl of ceremonial appearances, awards presentations and ribbon cuttings that make up the life of a modern royal.Into the breach stepped, of all people, Queen Camilla.Once seen as the scourge of the House of Windsor because of her role in the breakup of Charles’ marriage to the late Princess Diana, Camilla emerged as one of the monarchy’s most prominent emissaries. Increasing her schedule of appearances, the queen played a crucial role in keeping the royal family in the public eye.Wherever she went, royal fans offered get well cards and words of encouragement for Charles and Kate.In many ways, the story of Charles’ first year since the coronation is about the rise of Camilla and how effective she’s been in representing the king, Whitelock said.“The crowds reaching out to her has actually been quite remarkable,” she said. “So I think this first year has very much been the reign of Charles and Camilla in a way that we would never have imagined.”Together, they helped create a year of stability for the monarchy, despite predictions from some critics that the death of Queen Elizabeth II would usher in an era of change.That’s not to say Charles is free from troubles, many in his own family.
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