There was a day, circa 1066-1953, when all a future king needed to learn was how not to fall off his horse when addressing his troops and to develop a real taste for killing small birds. School and formal education, you see, were for people who would one day have “jobs” or would need to earn money, since their ancestors had the misfortune of not having colonized the subcontinent. (A holy cash cow?)

Sadly for Prince George, he was born at a time when the royal family has decided that raising their children “normally” was the plan, even though his 13 years of schooling will lead precisely nowhere. This is not a kid who is ever going to need to bother to attend a job fair.

However, when the Easter half-term break ends on April 17 and he is dropped off at Lambrook school — just him, his Spider-Man lunchbox and an armed security detail — it will not be business as usual.

Kate Middleton announced her cancer diagnosis hours after her children's school term ended.
Kate Middleton announced her cancer diagnosis hours after her children’s school term ended.BBC Studios

Next week will see the prince, his sister, Princess Charlotte, brother, Prince Louis, and father, Prince William, all return to their normal lives for the first time since their mother, Kate, the Princess of Wales, revealed to the world that she has cancer. And that means the Wales family is about to face their most serious stress test yet.

It was only just over two weeks ago that Kate left the world reeling with her news, a development so closely guarded that the UK media were only given 90 minutes’ warning. The timing of the video was no accident, going out two hours after the end of the school term.

This meant that just as the storm was breaking, William and Kate were able to protect their kids and could abscond to their Norfolk home Anmer Hall to do suitably wholesome things and ride out the initial frenzy.

But all fairy tales, even actual royal ones, must come to an end. What Kate and William face now is finding out whether their carefully wrought plans for her treatment and recovery will hold up in the harsh light of actual day.

For the first time since the world learned about the Princess of Wales’ diagnosis, the Prince of Wales will return to the royal coalface and their children will be shunted back to Lambrook to continue to learn the imperfect tense in French.

In the wake of Kate’s cancer news, Kensington Palace made clear how the couple want things to go: William will get back out there and get back to work, posing for selfies with people who put their own trash out and doing his bit to bang the climate crisis drum, but to a lesser extent than normal.

The princess, of course, will be out of sight with no known return date even vaguely mooted, as she undergoes chemo. And the kids will not be allowed to get out of their homework.

But you know what they say about best-laid plans …

The questions remain: Will Prince William be able to juggle his princely duty while earning his husband of the year badge, all while contorting himself to manage it all like a Cirque du Soleil performer? What will actually happen when the Wales kids are back on the hand-hewn swing set at little lunch? And will not only the British press but the public accede to the Waleses’ request for privacy now that there are probably even bigger dollar figures attached?

The family has asked for privacy as their children deal with the news of their mother's diagnosis.
The family has asked for privacy as their children deal with the news of their mother’s diagnosis.Samir Hussein/WireImage
Take what William is going to be up against.

You and I might not have a scepter to our names, but at least we are allowed to feel our feelings in private and not have to be put on display while going through something traumatic and deeply upsetting. (We got the better end of this bargain, I figure.)

The next time William turns up in public, it will be with the world knowing that his wife is battling cancer and that her disappearance from view is not a temporary blip, but an aberration in an otherwise steady drumbeat of glossy coupley official outings. The 41-year-old will have no choice but to go into the wide world and have the full force and intensity of public feeling imposed upon him.

William will also have to hold down the professional fort now and fly the Wales flag solo.

On a personal level, the prince will have to find some sort of vague balance between the millstone of his royal responsibilities, supporting his wife and being present and emotionally available for his kids.

That’s a hell of a lot for one man to have on his plate, even if he is a man who has never actually carried his own plate in his life.

Next there is the question of how the Wales kids will fare at this extraordinary time.

George might have a retinue of bodyguards who probably know 17 ways to kill someone with their bare hands, but even they can’t save him from schoolyard gossip.

The children will return to school on April 17th and William will return to his royal duties.
The children will return to the Lambrook School on April 17 and William will return to his royal duties.AP
As a palace source told the Telegraph: “George is 10 now and can’t be shielded from any of this now. Once it’s at the school gate and in the school playground, he won’t be able to avoid it.”

It would seem that the Lambrook community has rallied, and will continue to rally, around the family. However, there are limits, and kids, even ones who start their day with boiled quail eggs and celery salt, are only kids. How will George, Charlotte and Louis cope back at school when all their classmates and the world know their mom is unwell?

Then there is the wildcard element here — the public. It was only three short weeks ago that William and Kate were secretly filmed by a member of the public while leaving the Windsor Farm Shop — footage that saw social media lose what remaining marbles it had left.

If nothing else, this incident demonstrated just how incredibly valuable such footage could be.

Last month, the Times’ associate editor Kate Mansey reported that “as part of her recovery, the princess will continue to go about her daily life. The media has been asked not to photograph her as she does so, whether that be dropping the children off at school or attending appointments.

“The palace has asked media outlets not to participate in the market for information, images or video.”

Politely asking is all well and good, and while the UK press might obligingly toe the line, the US and European markets could have no such restraint.

Fleet Street might not touch a clip of Kate getting an almond latte, but the international markets and websites like TMZ are another matter entirely.

The princess has become even more of a target now that there is the equivalent of a bounty on her head. Will the public’s decency win out over greed? Or will there always be someone with no qualms about secretly filming her in the cereal aisle?


What do you think? Post a comment.

The good news is that William, Kate and their three children have another blessed week of peace and quiet before this all descends on them and the school work begins.