William’s Kiwi ex-aide says Prince of Wales was at his ‘lowest’ after Kate’s cancer diagnosis

Former royal aide Jason Knauf has spoken about Prince William's struggles following Kate and King Charles' cancer diagnoses. Photos / Getty Images, @60minutes9

Prince William was at his “lowest” after his father and his wife were both diagnosed with cancer within weeks of each other.

William, Prince of Wales was dealt a double blow last year when his father, King Charles, and his wife, title="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/topic/prince-william/">Catherine, Princess of Wales, both started treatment for undisclosed forms of the disease.

The royal was devastated by the family health crisis, former royal aide Jason Knauf said.

During an interview on TV show 60 Minutes Australia, Knauf explained: “It was awful, absolutely awful. It’s the lowest I’ve ever seen him.

“Within a couple of weeks, if you’re Prince William, you find out that both your wife and your father have cancer. I couldn’t believe it.”

Princess Catherine recently revealed she’s in remission, while King Charles is continuing to receive treatment.

The Princess of Wales is in remission from cancer. Photo / Getty Images

Knauf – who stepped down as chief executive of the couple’s Royal Foundation in 2021 – went on to open up about how William and Catherine wanted to keep her diagnosis private until they had explained the situation to their children, but they were targeted by wild conspiracy theories online.

He said: “The problem was that all this crazy conspiracy theory stuff kicked off in the background, online. ‘Was she really ill’?

“But they didn’t want to say yet that she had cancer because they hadn’t told the children and they were still working through how to tell the children.”

William, 42, previously admitted 2024 was the “hardest year” of his life as his loved ones underwent cancer treatment.

During a visit to South Africa, he said: “It’s been dreadful. It’s probably been the hardest year in my life.

“So, trying to get through everything else and keep everything on track has been really difficult.

“I’m so proud of my wife, I’m proud of my father, for handling the things that they have done. But from a personal family point of view, it’s been brutal.”