King Charles faces 'Diana dilemma' with Princess Kate amid cancer battles

King Charles recently lost a popularity contest against Princess Kate in the wake of their respective cancer battles.

According to a new YouGov poll, the Princess of Wales reigned supreme among the royals after going public with her cancer diagnosis at the end of last month.

Meanwhile, the 75-year-old monarch was four places down after son Prince William and sister Princess Anne with 63% votes.

Writing for News.com.au, royal commentator Daniela Elser pointed out the dip in popularity of the King from when he unveiled his diagnosis with an undisclosed form of cancer in February.

She compared his dilemma of being overshone to that of Charles’ marriage to Diana, prompting feelings of insecurity within him.

However, the royal author appeared to breathe a sigh of relief at the King’s amicable relations with Kate, as opposed to his toxic marriage to the former Princess of Wales.

“Kate vastly outstripping Charles in popularity and support during this real crisis point for Crown Inc represents an upsetting of what is meant to be the natural order of things and the etched-in-Cornish-granite hierarchy of things,” Elser wrote.

“It’s a curious replay of the same dynamic that existed with Diana, Princess of Wales who magnetically drew people to her and charmed the masses like some spell-weaving good witch of the West End.”

However, she noted the difference, saying: “Charles not only likes Kate but can see what a huge boon she is for the monarchy,” making it a tad bit easier for people within the palace.

Rest assured, the royal commentator added, “Charles and Kate might have all the love and care in the world for one another and a two-person WhatsApp chat that’s all Cheryl Strayed quotes and heart emojis, but their job, at the end of the day, is to keep the monarchy going and one of them is currently making a much better fist of it than the other.”