Royal Family members cruelly cursed by cancer – from George IV to Queen Mother
The nation was left stunned by news of King Charles III's cancer on Monday night – but he's not the first royal to be diagnosed with the disease.
The King's diagnosis was made public just a week after His Majesty was discharged from hospital in central London following surgery for an enlarged prostate, and was quickly met with sympathy from leaders around the world. It's now estimated that one in two people in the UK will develop some form of cancer during their lifetime. According to the NHS, breast cancer, lung cancer, prostate cancer and bowel cancer are the most common types.
Here's a list of members of the Royal Family who have lived with the disease:
Queen Mother
The Queen Mother lived to 101 despite fighting cancer twice in her life (Getty Images)The Queen Mother battled cancer twice in her life, according to an official biography released after her death. She underwent a 90 minute operation to remove a tumour from her colon in December 1966, while another operation 18 years late saw a cancerous tumour removed from a breast.
Despite this, she lived an extraordinarily long life. The Queen Mother died on March 30, 2002 aged 101, and 50 years after the death of her husband and the Queen's father, King George V. She is the second longest-living royal in British history, after her sister-in-law. Princess Alice.
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Edward VIII
Edward VIII died from throat cancer in 1972 (Bettmann Archive)Edward VIII, who is remembered for abdicating to wed American divorcee Wallis Simpson in 1936, died from throat cancer at his home in Paris in 1972. He was aged 77.
King George VI
King George VI, who reigned from 1936 until his death in 1952 at age 56, developed lung cancer as a result of his heavy smoking habit, an Oxford University study later found. His left lung, which had been found to have a malignant tumour, had been removed a year earlier.
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King George IV
George IV, famous for an extravagant Regency lifestyle that saw him take many mistresses and build the Royal Pavilion in Brighton, died ten years into his reign in 1830. A large tumour "the size of an orange" was found attached to his bladder by doctors.
Princess Victoria
Princess Victoria died from breast cancer at the age of 60 in 1901 (Getty Images)The first child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, Princess Victoria died from breast cancer at the age of 60 in 1901. She married Prince Frederick William of Prussia in a royal wedding in 1858, and reigned as German empress dowager after his reign was cut tragically short by larynx cancer just ninety-nine days after his coronation.
Sarah, Duchess of York
Sarah, Duchess of York has been diagnosed with melanoma and received breast cancer treatment last year (Getty Images)Earlier this month, Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, revealed she was diagnosed with melanoma when her doctor spotted suspicious moles. It comes after she underwent surgery last year for breast cancer, which was detected during a routine mammogram.
A spokesman for Sarah, Duchess of York said: "She is undergoing further investigations to ensure that this has been caught in the early stages. Clearly, another diagnosis so soon after treatment for breast cancer has been distressing but the Duchess remains in good spirits."
King Charles III
King Charles is said to "defiant" and determined to continue "business as usual" after diagnosis for an undisclosed form of cancer. He has been told by aides to "postpone public-facing duties" as he begins treatment, but will continue to carry out State business and official paperwork as usual. King Charles explained that he wanted to go public with the news in hopes it would "assist public understanding for all those around the world who are affected by cancer."
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