We expect a lot of our Royal Family, and rightly so. They occupy an extraordinary position in our national life, one that comes with a great deal of privilege (and a generous amount of financial recompense).
It’s why many of us expect them to be the embodiment of the nation’s ‘keep calm and carry on’ mantra, the last vestige of that British stiff upper lip.
But every now and again something happens that reminds us they are human too – and that behind the scenes they may just be battling the same challenges as the rest of us.
The news on Wednesday that not one, but two, of our senior royals are suffering serious health issues that require hospital treatment came as a shock.
Who would have thought seeing the King smiling broadly as he drove himself and his wife to church on Sunday that he was concerned enough about his health to seek imminent medical advice.
Or that on the very day he was told to scale back royal duties and prepare for surgery for an enlarged prostate next week, His Majesty would break with protocol and allow his diagnoses to be made known in the hope that it might encourage other men to get themselves checked out.
I’m told he is ‘genuinely’ in a good place, taking a pragmatic approach to his diagnosis and keeping up with his paperwork before his surgery next week.
More troubling is the Princess of Wales who, having undergone what has been described only as ‘abdominal surgery’, will be required to spend two weeks in hospital and up to three months recovering.
Kensington Palace has said it is her wish to keep further details of her condition private (although they have confirmed it is non-cancerous) but, clearly given her recovery time, it is significant.
