Prince William calls past year 'incredibly tough'

LONDON -

Prince William has described the past year as "brutal" following cancer diagnoses for his wife and father. "Honestly, it's been dreadful," he said.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday as he closed out a four-day trip to South Africa, the Prince of Wales described 2024 as being probably "the hardest year in my life."

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He added: "So, trying to get through everything else and keep everything on track has been really difficult.

"But 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, yeah, it's been brutal."

King Charles III was diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer in February, forcing the monarch to step away from public appearances for two months as he focused on his treatment and recovery. Kate, the princess of Wales, announced her own cancer diagnosis a few weeks later and is slowly returning to public duties after completing a course of chemotherapy.

In a video released in September, Kate described her illness as "incredibly tough for us as a family." William's comments in South Africa marked the first time he has discussed his own feelings in detail.

Kate, Princess of Wales waits to present the trophy to Carlos Alcaraz of Spain after he defeated Novak Djokovic of Serbia in the men's singles final at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, July 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)

Buckingham Palace announced on Friday that Kate and the king would both take part in the national commemoration of Remembrance Day, in central London, on Sunday to honour those who died during the world wars and all the conflicts that have followed.

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Prince William was in South Africa to announce the winners of his annual Earthshot competition, which is designed to inspire entrepreneurs and inventors to come up with new ways to combat climate change and other environmental problems. He also attended a meeting sponsored by his United for Wildlife charity, which brought together representatives of law enforcement agencies, conservation groups and corporations that are working to stop the trade in illegal wildlife products.

The work has provided a welcome distraction in an otherwise difficult year.

"It's more a case of just crack on and you've got to keep going," William said. "I enjoy my work, and I enjoy pacing myself and keeping sure that I have got time for my family, too."