It's a right royal farce on the face of it. The plan, appears to be to do nothing, and hope that more positive coverage of attendances, will wash away the tears. Indeed, who could not feel for the children, and their part in this production - yet to come. No doubt the BBC will play a part in that. Pass the whitewash please.

Catherine, Princess of Wales, GCVO (born Catherine Elizabeth Middleton; 9 January 1982) is a member of the British royal family. She is married to William, Prince of Wales, heir apparent to the British throne, making Catherine the likely next Queen consort.

In January 2024, Kate was subject to abdominal surgery, the details of which were hushed, leading to much speculation in the media articles that followed. Then in March, the news broke that the Princess of Wales had cancer. Saturday the 23rd is a day to remember, when the tone of every major newspaper was of concern. The Times struck a reassuring note with its front page headline, “Princess reveals her cancer and says: I’m going to be OK.” The FT Weekend opted for “Kate puts end to speculation” while The Sun tabloid told the princess, “KATE, YOU ARE NOT ALONE”

The 42-year-old princess revealed her cancer battle a day earlier in an emotional video statement, after weeks of relentless scrutiny over her health.

One might imagine the shock to the Royals, checking and double checking. Desperately looking for cures that do not yet exist, experimental treatments. Anything but succumb and admit herself to the dreaded chemotherapy. Some kind of admission of defeat. But that is not true in many cases, people pull through and lead rewarding lives, subject to the inconvenience of routine checkups. The fear of not being given the all-clear is something millions of people all over the world have to live with.

But this is nothing new. Incidences of cancer are on the increase, up something like 80% in the under 50s. Is that surprising. Hardly. We live on a planet where plastic is in many of the foods we ingest. Plastic contamination has been detected in human placentas, fetal fluid and the meconium of newborns, indicating the presence of plastics from the very first start of life. As marine litter, such micro particles act as sponges for PCBs and other toxins, which fish and shellfish eat with alacrity, passing up the food chain via bio-magnification.

Plastic pollution is an increasing global health concern, particularly the ever-increasing amount of tiny plastic particles commonly referred to as micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs). Human activities with a major impact on our ‘global plastic foot print’ are the behavioral and common use of e.g., littering of single-use plastics, packaging and food waste.

Then there are diesel and even petroleum particulates, prevalent in cities like London, despite exclusion zones. We live in a bubble of greenhouse gases, long ago recognized as carcinogenic. Endorsed by successive governments in failing to introduce policies to tackle pollution. Being outside their investments comfort zone. Red Flags flying full mast, as a legacy for our siblings to deal with. In this case, George, Charlotte and Louis. Though, royals don't like to get involved in politics. As in the good old days when Royal Charters abounded, for of all things; slave trading.

The somber development concerning Kate, followed an unprecedented hurricane of unfounded conspiracy theories which blew up in the absence of specifics surrounding her surgery in January, supercharged by Prince William’s unusual absence from his godfather’s memorial in late February and the admission by Kate that she had edited a photograph released by the family to mark Mother’s Day in the UK earlier this month.

The disclosure about her health puts a new perspective on that photo – and the events of the past few weeks. The official line is that she had been recovering from abdominal surgery, when the reality was a lot more serious than that. Yet again, the royal family could face some difficult questions about what they chose to reveal to the public, and when. 

The cancer diagnosis of the future Queen comes on the heels of King Charles III’s own health battle, which was revealed in early February – less than a year after his coronation. The 75-year-old monarch also made the decision to temporarily step away from public duties as he undergoes cancer treatment (though he continues his constitutional obligations behind the scenes). 

With Britain still coming to terms with the King’s diagnosis, it is perhaps even more shocking to learn of Kate’s condition given her relative youth. To her devoted supporters, she is the epitome of good health, beauty and perfection. Since marrying into the family in 2011, she has rarely put a foot wrong and proven herself to be a dependable figure of “the firm.” That dependability has now been replaced by vulnerability, unsettling a steadfast institution, where many abolitionists and even undecided, are questioning the need for a Royal family, in a modern world with far more pressing issues. That perhaps now, the Princess might be swayed a little more in that direction, than previously.

Cancer has a way of changing the perspective of those who are unfortunate to contract the disease. There are some promising technologies in the pipeline, though many years in the future, even with unlimited resources, and mountains of visionary lateral thinkers. That in the UK are typically shunned, derided and even buried.

KATE'S BACKGROUND

Born in Reading, Catherine grew up in Bucklebury, Berkshire. She was educated at St Andrew's School and Marlborough College before studying art history at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, where she met William in 2001. She held jobs in retail and marketing and pursued charity work before their engagement was announced in November 2010. They married on 29 April 2011 at Westminster Abbey. The couple's children - Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis - are second, third, and fourth in the line of succession to the British throne, respectively. As they come of age. Prior to their births, Prince Harry would have been second in line.

Catherine holds patronage within over 20 charitable and military organisations, including Action for Children, SportsAid, and the National Portrait Gallery. She undertakes projects through The Royal Foundation, with her charity work focusing on issues surrounding young children, addiction, and art. To encourage people to open up about their mental health issues, Catherine envisioned the mental health awareness campaign "Heads Together", launched with William and Prince Harry in April 2016. The media have called Catherine's impact on British and American fashion the "Kate Middleton effect". In 2011, 2012, and 2013, Time magazine selected her as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World. On 9 September 2022, she became the new Princess of Wales when her husband was created Prince of Wales by his father, King Charles III, when Queen Elizabeth passed in 2022.

The United Kingdom does not yet have a Written Constitution. There is a debate running, as to abolition of the Monarchy, made especially poignant by the failure of the Regent to address accountability and transparency - in the modern age where slavery is fast becoming a thing of the past, internationally. And, justice and impartiality of the Courts, is a requirement under the UN's SDG 16, but where that cannot be so in a country with no right of appeal in criminal cases involving wrongful conviction. The UK has not yet apologized for its part in the slave trade as a Colonial taskmaster. Causing untold suffering. Nor is there any likelihood of an apology for those wrongly convicted and sentenced to serve time in Prison, previously at Her Majesty's pleasure, now His Majesty's pleasure.

Corruption lurks in every corridor of local and national buildings in the United Kingdom. Queen Elizabeth was asked for help. She declined. The duty to provide an effective remedy, now rests with King Charles. Incompatibility in Human Rights terms, is where one statute does not comply with HR statute. The European Convention does include Article 13, the right to an effective remedy. The Universal Declaration is built upon the premise of such rights free of discrimination.