Historian Reveals King Charles and Princess Kate's Special Connection in Cancer Fight
Historian Michael Reed discovered that King Charles and Kate Middleton's relatives campaigned to find a cure for cancer over a century ago.
Both King Charles and Kate Middleton have battled cancer, facing their diagnoses with resilience and dedication to their treatments. While the King was diagnosed in February 2024 and continues to undergo reduced treatment, the Princess of Wales, diagnosed in March of the same year, is now in remission. What many may not realize is that their strength reflects a remarkable ancestral link. Australian historian Michael Reed recently discovered that Charles's great-uncle and Middleton's third great-uncle campaigned to find a cure for cancer over a century ago.
According to a report by The Telegraph, exactly 100 years ago, Charles's great-uncle and Middleton's great-great-great-uncle helped found the British Empire Cancer Campaign's Yorkshire council, at a time when many scientists showed little interest in finding a cure for the disease. The Yorkshire Council, later known as Yorkshire Cancer Research (YCR), marked this historic connection during its 100th anniversary at Castle Howard, alongside the release of a commemorative book. Charles's great-uncle, Viscount Lascelles, had served as YCR's first president, while Middleton's second great-uncle, Sir Charles Lupton, was its first vice-president.
Reed, who uncovered the touching historic cancer link between Charles and Middleton, told the outlet, "I felt it was very poignant that although the Princess and King Charles's [family members] were both aristocratic men, they chose to get their hands dirty doing really tough campaigning for a disease which, in 1925, perplexed most leading scientists, who therefore had little interest in finding a solution." He continued, "I was moved to learn that [Lupton] had considered himself at age 70 too old to be Viscount Lascelles's first vice-president, but still agreed to lead this charity because he felt so strongly that a cure for cancer was desperately needed."
However, the historian believed that the King and the Princess of Wales may not be aware of their familial links to the cancer charity. Viscount Lascelles, Charles's great uncle, married Princess Mary, the sister of Edward VIII and George VI. After making a name for himself in the military, he devoted much of his life to supporting charitable causes across Yorkshire. Meanwhile, Sir Charles Lupton was the brother of Middleton's great-great-grandfather, Francis Lupton. During the charity's centenary celebrations, he was praised as an "outstanding man among men" and described as "full of old-world courtesy and consideration, quiet, unassuming, sincere, with a direct simplicity which could not be resisted."
Interestingly, much like their noble relatives, both Charles and Middleton have worked to raise awareness about cancer, encouraging others to remain resilient. Despite the royal family's long-standing tradition of privacy, both the King and the Princess chose to share their diagnoses publicly, marking a significant shift. Charles also serves as patron of both Cancer Research UK and Macmillan Cancer Support, while Middleton and Prince William are joint patrons of the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust. Middleton had announced in September 2024 that her cancer treatment was over, and in January 2025, that she was in remission.
