The royal family has endured a difficult start to 2024, with both King Charles and the Princess of Wales diagnosed with undisclosed forms of cancer.
Both King Charles and the Princess of Wales made the news of their respective conditions public "in the hope it may assist public understanding for all those around the world who are affected by cancer", explaining that “it [had] been an incredibly tough couple of months for [the] entire family".
Amid what experts called the "biggest [royal] crisis" in recent years, both senior royals were forced to take a temporary step back from public duties to focus on their respective recoveries, with Prince William having to step up as heir to the throne.
"The weight of the world is on [Prince William's] shoulders," royal expert Robert Jobson explained to HELLO! last month, with a former royal courtier adding via Cosmopolitan that we have been witnessing Prince William's "dry run" as King.
“William and Kate had hoped to have several decades as Prince and Princess of Wales, and god willing they will still get them," the former royal courtier noted. "But what is interesting about the next few months is that William is being forced into a dry run at being king much sooner than he might have imagined such a thing would come to pass."
As the pressure mounts on the future King, he will no doubt be doing all that he can to manage the stresses of the job. Particularly at the start of each week, with Prince William once revealing that he has a surprising Monday morning ritual that helps him feel like he can "take on anything and anyone".
The ritual in question? Starting every week by listening to the 1990 AC/DC track 'Thunderstruck' - something the Prince of Wales has previously called the "best tonic".
"There's nothing better than, on a Monday morning, when you're a bit bleary-eyed after the weekend and trying to get yourself back into the grind of the week, listening to AC/DC, 'Thunderstruck'", Prince William explained during his appearance on the Apple Fitness+ podcast, 'Time to Walk'.
He continued: "It absolutely wakes you up, puts your week in the best mood possible, and you feel like you can take on anything and anyone. I'd imagine you're going to walk quite fast listening to it, maybe with a skip in your step, with the head-banging. It's a difficult song not to dance to or to nod along to."
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