As King Charles III marks his second Accession Day, the tonally unique anniversary acknowledging when he inherited the throne, the royal family is still looking to restore long-term confidence in the centuries-old institution.
Even before the shocking one-two punch of Charles and Kate Middleton‘s health crises, things had simply not been the same since Queen Elizabeth II‘s death on Sept. 8, 2022, which couldn’t help but change the entire royal vibe in the U.K.
Still, taking a cue from their late matriarch, the remaining senior royals chugged along, never officially responding to the slings and arrows flying their way (many of them coming from inside the family).
But then business as usual ground to a halt in January: Kensington Palace announced that Kate was going to be out of the public eye while recovering from abdominal surgery until at least after Easter on March 31. Hours later, Buckingham Palace shared that Charles was being treated for an enlarged prostate.
On Feb. 5, six days after he was discharged from the hospital, the palace stated that Charles had been diagnosed with cancer and would be stepping back from public-facing duties while undergoing treatment.
If there was not one more shred of royal news for the rest of the year, that would have been enough of a what-does-this-mean-for-the-monarchy moment. Of course, that is not what happened.
