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King Charles ascended the throne in September 2022 after the death of Queen Elizabeth II, and his official coronation followed in May 2023. While the king had been prepared for the job since birth, he couldn’t possibly have prepared for what was to come. Royal expert Phil Dampier says there was no way of knowing just how big the family turmoil would become. Let’s take a look back at what has happened in the years since the iconic queen’s death.

The Royal Cancer Battles Dominated the Early Years of King Charles’ Reign

Dampier, speaking to the Daily Mail, acknowledged that following his mother’s 70-year reign was a hard act. But he said Charles adapted quickly and “stamped his authority in the first week.” That didn’t stop trouble from finding him, though.

Within a year of his coronation, both King Charles and Catherine, Princess of Wales, were diagnosed with cancer, a pairing Dampier called a “double blow” for the monarchy. Both royals stepped out of the spotlight for months as they navigated their private health battles. Years later, the public still knows very little about their illnesses; neither has disclosed what type of cancer they had.

“Some of these things have been brewing for years, but I don’t think he could have anticipated that they would have blown up so big,” Dampier said.

Andrew and the Sussexes Made Scandalous Headlines

The cancer battles dominated headlines and made the king’s reign more difficult, but they certainly weren’t scandalous. The same can’t be said for the headlines involving the king’s younger brother.

Fallout from Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein led Charles to strip his brother of his royal titles and evict him from Royal Lodge. Andrew was then arrested in February on suspicion of misconduct in public office, and he remains under investigation. Police Scotland has also opened preliminary inquiries into visits Andrew made to Balmoral with Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. Sarah Ferguson’s own connection to Epstein, revealed in newly released emails, and her continued closeness to Andrew despite their divorce only deepened the scandal.

Andrew’s scandal is arguably worse than any other royal headline of the last several years, but there’s more drama. The king’s rift with his son Prince Harry and Harry’s wife, Meghan Markle, has stayed in the spotlight. The couple returned to the U.K. in August, and the king then took the unusual step of reminding official bodies that the Sussexes should be treated as “private citizens.” Charles reportedly wants a closer relationship with his grandchildren, Archie and Lilibet, but palace insiders are said to be wary of the couple’s intentions.

The family’s public image took another blow in October, when police in the Philippines opened an investigation into alleged child sexual abuse material found at the former home of Meghan’s estranged father, Thomas Markle Sr. He has denied the allegations, and Meghan said she was “deeply distressed” by the reports.

Camilla “Has Kept Him Sane”

Through it all, Dampier credits Queen Camilla as the king’s anchor. He said she “has kept him sane” and helped him navigate each crisis, and that without her support behind the scenes, Charles would struggle.

A senior palace aide recently said the king is “confident” in how he is handling the family crises. The aide said he balances his roles as head of state, head of the Church of England, head of the Commonwealth, and family man, with his priorities shifting “by the day—and often by the hour.”

The comments come as Charles carries out a nine-day tour of the Caribbean with Camilla. The trip has brought its own scrutiny. In the Bahamas, protesters called for reparations over Britain’s role in the slave trade. The king acknowledged “the great suffering of the past” but stopped short of an apology. He did not comment further.

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