Prince William Allegedly Under ‘Immense’ Pressure Amid Family Health Crisis

Palace sources have mentioned that William “clearly has a lot on his mind.” The prince is also about to resume his public royal duties as his kids return to school. As part of his waste-free world environmental objective, William will do some community work and visit a youth center.

William has had a difficult year, with the back-to-back cancer diagnoses of his father, King Charles, and wife, Kate Middleton. With both senior royal family members undergoing treatment, the Prince of Wales has had to hold down the fort, which has been physically and emotionally challenging.

His responsibilities include taking care of his and Kate’s three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis, performing his regular duties as a senior royal, and standing in for Charles and Kate in their own royal duties.

A source spoke to Us Weekly about how William has been doing his best to come through in all the ways the royal family needs him.

They said, “It’s been stressful. William feels a profound sense of duty to uphold the monarchy’s stability and inspire confidence in the public that everything will be OK. It’s an immense responsibility.”

When Kate announced her cancer diagnosis in an emotional and shocking video posted on social media, she mentioned that William had been “a great source of comfort and reassurance” in her treatment.

A family friend also told People Magazine, “This is about supporting her and her feeling supported. It is a joint effort. She doesn’t feel isolated at all.”

Royal historian Gareth Russell also spoke to Us Weekly about the pressure and workload on Charles.

He said, “Unfortunately, it’s not just these two illnesses that are rocking the monarchy at the moment: It was always anticipated that Charles would have three working siblings and two working children and their wives, and that would be a sustainable footing.”

However, multiple scandals and events have changed this scenario. Now, Prince Andrew has been cut off after his ties with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and sexual abuse allegations were made public. Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, also took themselves out of the picture when they stepped down as senior royals in 2020.

With the confirmation of the cancer diagnosis, there are just Princess Anne, Prince Edward, and the Duchess of Edinburgh Sophie to support William as a working royal. However, these few royals aren’t enough to keep up with the constant public appearances required of the royal family.

Another Royal biographer, Tessa Dunlop, told the news outlet about how the emotional burden on William can not be understated.

She said, “He’s got young children, a sick wife and a sick dad, and memories of losing his mom [Princess Diana] early.”

Dunlop noted that “there’s a lot at stake” for the royal family right now, which is why William needs support.

According to another source, the Prince of Wales needed some time to process the gravity of the situation he was faced with.

“After William’s dad and Kate’s diagnoses, he shut down for a couple of days,” the source claimed, per Us Weekly. “He canceled all meetings and spent time with Kate. Then he picked himself back up again because he knew it was up to him to be strong for the whole family.”

They further noted that people around William are giving him time and space to process things: “Around the palace, he looks tense. He clearly has a lot on his mind. The palace is backing off and giving him space.”

At the time of Kate’s announcement, sources confirmed to People magazine that William would resume his Royal duties after their kids returned to school. He’d resume work in a balanced way, always considering the needs of Kate and his family first.

William’s first royal duty will be community work at environmental organizations in southwest London and Surrey. On April 16, Kensington Palace announced his plan, which begins with a visit to a food distribution charity in Sunbury-on-Thames.

After that, William will visit a youth center in West London that distributes surplus food to those in need. His plans for the day are part of the prince’s desire to encourage a waste-free world, a key template for his environmental Earthshot Prize.