King Charles III will have spoken to Kate Middleton as she recovers in hospital and will not want her back at work “any sooner than she feels she needs,” according to his biographer.
Robert Hardman’s new book The Making of a King: King Charles III and the Modern Monarchy, published in America by Pegasus, was written with significant access to the royals and their staff and caused a splash in the run-up to publication Thursday.
Events in the monarchy took a dramatic turn, however, on Wednesday when Kensington Palace announced the Princess of Wales was in hospital after abdominal surgery.
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Hardman told Newsweek he believed Charles will have been in touch with Kate since the operation: “Yes, I would certainly have thought so. He’s a huge fan of hers. He thinks she’s a great asset. He’ll be more worried than anyone other than Prince William about her.
“She’s fit, she’s young and she’s out of action for three months. That’s a cause for concern, not alarm, but he’ll definitely be taking the view ‘for God’s sake don’t make her feel she’s got to come back to duties any sooner than she feels she needs to.’
“I don’t think there’s anyone who wants to put any kind of pressure on her. I think there’s an element of that in the media, that we shouldn’t raise false expectations, ‘oh, she’s going to be running around at Easter.'”
Kensington Palace’s announcement included an apology from the princess for canceling a raft of planned visits, even as British people voiced their concerns for her swift recovery.
An hour and a half after Kate’s surgery was announced, Buckingham Palace revealed King Charles III is due a procedure on an enlarged prostate next week.
The king took the extra step of confirming his diagnosis in the hope of prompting other men with symptoms to get checked out.
The proximity of the two statements made for a frantic day in the world of royal reporting but a palace source told Newsweek the timing was purely a coincidence.
Kate’s operation was announced a day after it happened and the king’s upcoming procedure could not be kept under wraps any longer due to the need to cancel scheduled appearances the following day, on Thursday.
“I think the princess and the announcement about the king literally within two hours, that obviously was not planned and was a major surprise,” Hardman said.
“The interest thing about both announcements was the degree of detail which we were being given and also the response, particularly in the case of the princess. So, the detail, to see a palace bulletin with the words ‘enlarged prostate’ that’s pretty 21st century.”
“He’s putting out there quite a lot of medical detail, including more than a lot of us would,” Hardman continued. “If I was going to take a couple of days off I wouldn’t necessarily announce to the entire office that I had an enlarged prostate.
“I’d just say its a minor thing and I’ll see you in a week on Monday, which is what the palace would have done in the old days.
“But I think there’s a sense of ‘I can probably make a difference if I make this clear.’ What it showed to me, it showed a certain similarity between Charles and both his sons in their willingness to talk about personal issues.
“Both Harry and William have talked quite a lot about mental health, something no one would have talked about in the royal world even 10 years ago.
“Now they’ve normalized that and I think Charles is saying I’ve got this issue, it’s perfectly normal, lots of men have it, why don’t you go and get checked out.
“Actually I’ve no doubt that in doing what he’s done, a number of people who wouldn’t have gone to have a check will now go and have a checkup.”
Buckingham Palace said in its Wednesday statement: “In common with thousands of men each year, The King has sought treatment for an enlarged prostate.
“His Majesty’s condition is benign and he will attend hospital next week for a corrective procedure. The King’s public engagements will be postponed for a short period of recuperation.”
Jack Royston is Newsweek‘s chief royal correspondent based in London. You can find him on X, formerly Twitter, at @jack_royston and read his stories on Newsweek‘s The Royals Facebook page.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.