Hello! Canada December 30, 2024

We’re full of the joys of the season here at Hello! Canada – all the more so because a year that Prince William heart-wrenchingly described as “brutal” is closing out with what looks like a happy ending. While his father, King Charles, is not out of the woods yet, he’s said to be in excellent spirits heading into the holidays. The Princess of Wales, meanwhile, was shortlisted for Time’s Person of the Year in recognition of the way she ignited a “conversation about privacy and health for public figures” with her unprecedented openness around her cancer battle. What does 2025 hold for the brave and resilient royal mom of three? Turn to page 34 for our royal experts’ predictions. The King and Princess Kate weren’t the only ones bouncing back…

‘It is a time for celebration and joy, but it also gives us the things that connect us all’– PRINCESS KATE It was the perfect way to prepare for what is, undoubtedly, her most meaningful family Christmas ever. As the Princess of Wales led her loved ones into her annual Together at Christmas carol service, she could not have looked happier to be back at Westminster Abbey. “I didn’t know this time last year it was going to be the year I’ve just had,” Kate admitted ahead of the concert, referring to her cancer diagnosis in early 2024 and subsequent months of treatment (see page 14). Looking glamorously festive in a vibrant red coat by her wedding-dress designer, Sarah Burton, for Alexander McQueen – accessorized with a black bow, black…

Wrapping up their most exciting year yet, King Frederik and Queen Mary of Denmark were the consummate hosts at Christiansborg Palace for the final state banquet of 2024, held in honour of Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. In a respectful nod to their guest, the monarch, 56, wore the Order of the Nile gold collar, while his wife, 52, paired her embellished gown with the Order of the Virtues sash and star. Queen Mary also debuted the sparkling Danish Rose Diamond Bandeau tiara – a new piece she commissioned featuring rose-cut natural diamonds that were once set in a belt owned by Princess Charlotte Amalie of Denmark in the 1840s. SHOCK ABDICATION The formal affair took place ahead of the first anniversary of Frederik’s accession to the throne. His mother,…

The motto “Keep calm and carry on” has never been more apt than in 2024, when the most senior members of the Royal Family underwent seismic shifts in their lives yet never wavered in their devotion to royal duty. Beginning with the news that both the King and Princess Kate were being hospitalized for different surgeries, the year quickly took an alarming turn after cancer was detected in both cases. In the summer, Princess Anne was felled by a kick from a horse, and in December, Queen Camilla revealed that she’d been battling pneumonia. “If not quite an ‘annus horribilis,’ 2024 is not a year that the King and the Royal Family will look back on with much joy,” royal biographer Hugo Vickers observes to Hello! Canada, borrowing the late…

Just 17 months into the role he’d waited his whole life to step into, King Charles, at 75, faced a grim setback: he had cancer (detected after surgery for an enlarged prostate). But the palace’s announcement set the tone for the upbeat way he would handle the blow that fate had dealt him. Described as “wholly positive about his treatment,” the King “looks forward to returning to full public duty as soon as possible,” the palace assured a concerned public. And that’s exactly what he did. By early April – when he and the Queen celebrated their 19th wedding anniversary – Charles was out and about, fittingly choosing a visit to a cancer treatment centre for his first engagement. Over the following months, the King was firmly back in the…

The Princess of Wales has endured a year that no one could have foreseen: nine months of treatment and a retreat from royal life in the face of “preventative chemotherapy” for an undisclosed form of cancer. From the moment she first shared the shocking news that she – like her father-in-law, King Charles – was undergoing treatment for the disease, Kate, 42, has shown calm and courage. After initially keeping her diagnosis private until she had been able to process it, together with Prince William and their young children – during “an incredibly tough couple of months for our entire family” – she has since kept her millions of fans informed in her own way, with very personal messages. ‘A HUGE SHOCK’ It was on March 22 that the princess…