Medical announcements mark new era of openness for the royal family

A quick glance across this morning’s front pages, and you’d be forgiven for thinking two members of the royal family are having life-saving operations.

But it is an indication of how rare it is that, next week, two of the four most senior royals will be receiving treatment in hospital.

Rarer still, in the case of King Charles, that we know exactly why is going in for surgery.

Buckingham Palace has always taken the view that the medical condition of these public servants should, rightly, be kept private.

That was their position for the late Queen and for the late Duke of Edinburgh as they became more elderly and frail in their later years.

To a large extent, that remains the case for the Princess of Wales now.

We have been told Kate had had “abdominal surgery” and that she’ll be in hospital for up to two weeks, but beyond that we don’t know what it is for and nor should we speculate.

But the much more open approach by the King and his inner circle says a lot about the new era in which we live.

By giving permission to share details of his prostate operation has put this condition on the front pages (literally) and made it a talking point on breakfast news programmes (we did as much on Good Morning Britain today).

There is even talk of a “King Charles effect” on men over 50 getting themselves checked out given the King has been so willing to share his own condition – similar to the way in which the “younger” royals (William, Kate, Harry as they were once called) spoke about sharing issues with mental health.

Medics say is an extremely common condition in older men and an enlarged prostate does not suggest a greater risk of prostate cancer.

But if men who find their peeing habits have dramatically changed do not get it checked out – they could be missing a potential early diagnosis of prostate cancer.

An enlarged prostate can also come in varying degrees of seriousness – from mild discomfort to serious blockages – and as uncomfortable as many men might find it to talk about these issues, there is no better solution than going to see your GP.

But palaces aides will also have weighed up the consequences of not sharing the King’s condition.

Given he is 75-years-old and still a relatively new Monarch, had they announced his admission to hospital and not disclosed why he was there – it would have set all sorts of hares running and rumours flying about the health of our head of state.

As for Princess Kate, the long hospital stay might have been announced out of caution in the hope she will leave The London Clinic and head home to Windsor sooner than that.

But in any event, Kate’s public duties have been cleared until after Easter including a potential royal trip to Italy with Prince William which was thought to be on the cards for the end of March.

The Prince of Wales will postpone some of his own engagements in order to be around the family home to help with the three children and assist Kate with her recuperation.

So for a slimmed down royal family, where the focus is on the top tier of four (King, Queen, William, Kate), two and a half of them are going to be out of action for a period of time.

And it means the oldest one, Queen Camilla who is 76, will be the only senior royal not to be clearing her diary for medical reasons.

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