Royal family faces struggles after Queen's death

Members of the Royal Family have “struggled” to move forward since the Queen’s death two years ago, according to an expert.

In 2022, the nation was gripped by grief when the Queen suddenly fell ill, prompting a rush of family members to Balmoral to say their goodbyes.

While some, like Prince Harry, didn't arrive in time, others, including Princess Anne, were at her side for hours before the Queen passed away at 96, marking the beginning of a national period of mourning.

Although King Charles' reign initially lifted spirits, the family faced renewed challenges this year when both the monarch and Princess Kate were diagnosed with cancer and began their treatments.

Royal biographer Andrew Morton told OK! : “It’s been very difficult for the Royal Family just to keep going, because so many of them have been seriously ill – and are seriously ill. King Charles has not been a particularly lucky monarch so far.

“I think they all miss her guiding hand. With the Queen as head of state and head of the family, they’d all bedded down quite nicely into their roles, and now everything’s been jolted around.

“All the illness which has assailed so many of the senior royals has knocked the whole edifice back on its heels.”

Other hardships faced by the family this year include Princess Anne’s hospitalisation after being injured by a horse, Thomas Kingston , the husband of Lady Gabriella Windsor, death at the age of 45 at his parents' home and the Duchess of York’s own cancer diagnosis. 

Elsewhere, her beloved grandsons William and Harry are at loggerheads - with no sign of reconciliation in the near future.

Ex-BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond added “If you think back to that picture of the Queen , Charles , William and George taken a few years ago, you remember how solid the future of the monarchy looked, with three future Kings all alive and well. After the many ups and downs of her reign, the Queen must have felt that her legacy was secure and the future was looking pretty rosy..

“So it would have been a great shock for Elizabeth to witness the difficulties of the past few months, and she would obviously have been deeply upset by her son and her granddaughter-in-law suffering from cancer.

"I think William, in particular, would have found his grandmother’s presence reassuring and she would have given him wise counsel. I suspect she would have told him to do exactly what he is doing: putting his family first until things improve.”