The Royal Family have faced a year they would rather forget with health battles for both King Charles and Queen Camilla as well as the Princess of Wales – and one royal expert examines how they can move forward with the dawn of a new year
As the Royal Family ushered in 2024 exactly one year ago, nobody could have predicted what the next 12 months would have in store.
Just weeks into the new year, both King Charlesand the Princess of Wales had hospital stays, with the pair later sharing their shock cancer diagnoses. It no doubt sent carefully-researched plans for the year ahead into chaos as the Firm dealt with the heartbreaking fallout.
Thankfully, it appears both the King and Kate are doing much better, with the end of 2024 providing some semblance of normality – even if Prince William described the year as ‘brutal’ after dealing with the double dose of devastation.
And now with 2025 here, what might be in store for the House of Windsor? Well, according to royal expert and historian Dr Tessa Dunlop, the road ahead is still unclear, but it may well involve more travel.
She told the Mirror: “That Britain’s fittest, full-time working royal described 2024 as ‘the hardest year of my life… its been brutal’ suggests 2025 is unlikely to open with a bang. William did not mince his words in South Africa, as he flagged up a changed institution with ‘a smaller r in the royal’.
“Less clear is exactly how this downsized monarchy will present itself. William alluded to Kate joining him on trips in 2025, but with young children and the Princess of Wales still managing a phased return to work, think more European pop-over than full-scale headline tour.
“Charles and Camilla are likewise compromised. Australia, billed as a ‘tonic’ for the ailing King, felled his wife; the 77-year-old Queen returned to Britain and succumbed to nasty chest infection that morphed into pneumonia, knocking her out for weeks. So far the King and Queen’s only overseas fixture in 2025 is a visit to Rome (inherited from the Waleses who pulled out last spring). Pressure might be relieved if they travelled as a four; a partnership that would allow Italy to benefit from the Royal Family‘s only glamorous player.
Like it or not, Kate remains the shiniest jewel in the Windsors’ crown. Last year’s highlights were all hers: Trooping, Wimbledon, Armistice, Christmas at the Abbey. It is a lot of pressure for one woman.”
One question that will hang over the next 12 months after being posed many times in 2024 is whether Prince Harry and Meghan will be able to reconcile with any of their royal relatives. In the past year, Harry has made several solo trips to the UK, but Meghan seems keen to remain in the US.
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