Queen Camilla has reflected on what has been an “emotionally and physically challenging” 2024, according to those close to her.
According to the Daily Mail, she told friends in an honest 9-word statement: “I can’t wait to see the back of 2024.”
The same friend added: “Truthfully, I think she is also just a bit worn down from what has been an emotionally and physically challenging year. It’s been tough.”
In February 2024, Buckingham Palace announced King Charles had been diagnosed “with a form of cancer”.
The cancer diagnosis followed the monarch informing the public he would undergo a procedure to treat a large prostate at the start of the year, which led to a rise in searches for information about the condition.
Throughout the course of the year, the King has received regular treatment which he paused with the approval of doctors in October to allow himself and Queen Camilla to complete their jam-packed royal tour of Australia and Samoa. He then resumed the treatment when he returned to the UK.
After the tour of Australia and Samoa, it was announced that Charles, 76, would continue a full royal tour in 2025 if it gained medical approval.
A senior Palace official said at the time: “We’re now working on a pretty normal looking full overseas tour program for next year, which is a high for us to end on, to know that we can be thinking in those terms – subject to sign off by doctors.
“It is hard to overstate the joy that he takes from duty and service and being in public and seeing those crowds engaging with communities across the spectrum. That really does lift the spirits. You can see that.”
This comes as King Charles’s treatment will continue into 2025 and is moving “in a positive direction”.
It has also been an incredibly tough year for Princess Kate, who was also diagnosed with cancer, as she informed the public via an emotional video.
Six months after revealing her diagnosis, the Princess of Wales shared an update revealing she had finished her chemotherapy and was focused on “staying cancer-free”.
Also revealing the update via a video, an incredibly candid and intimate video showed Kate, Prince William, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis spending time together in Norfolk with a message voiced by Kate.
Towards the end of her royal tour, Camilla had her own health issues as it was revealed she had a nasty bout of pneumonia which she had been battling since November.
According to the Daily Mail, she told friends that she had been “knocked for six” by “post-viral fatigue syndrome”, which has lasted far longer than her doctors thought it would and left her sapped of energy.
The King and Queen will soon travel to Sandringham in Norfolk to celebrate Christmas with the Royal Family after an eventful year.
This also comes after a festive pre-Christmas lunch, held by His Majesty, which this year, was hosted at Buckingham Palace on December 19, which saw up to 70 members of the Royal Family celebrating the festivities.
