King Charles, Queen Elizabeth, Prince William, and Kate Middleton on June 5, 2012.
Credit: Getty
The Gist
Queen Elizabeth, the longest-serving monarch in British history, would have turned 100 years old on April 21.
She died at age 96 on September 8, 2022, over a year before King Charles and Kate Middleton announced their respective cancer diagnoses.
The late monarch “would have been extremely concerned” about the pair, royal biographer Sally Bedell Smith told People for a new cover story.
It has been over three-and-a-half years since Queen Elizabeth died at age 96 on September 8, 2022. Next week—April 21, specifically—would have been the late royal’s 100th birthday. As such, many royal fans are wondering: How would the queen handle certain situations if she were alive today?
Queen Elizabeth on October 20, 2018.
Credit: Getty
Though Prince William and Prince Harry’s rift and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s scandals were respectively already taking place before her death in 2022, two major events that ultimately rocked the royal family to its core had not yet happened.
In early 2024, just over a year after her death, both King Charles and Kate Middleton were diagnosed with cancer—the type and stage of which remains unknown to the present day. The diagnoses were almost in tandem, and it left both the monarch and the Princess of Wales absent from royal life for the beginning of 2024 as they focused on their health. While Kate announced in January 2025 that she is in remission, the king’s cancer treatment continues.
Kate Middleton and Queen Elizabeth on March 8, 2012.
Credit: Getty
In a new People cover story, royal biographer Sally Bedell Smith said that, had she been alive to know of the dual diagnoses, the queen “would have been extremely concerned, but would have relied on her faith to sustain her.”
“She would have been a good support for both of them,” she added.
The late queen’s former press secretary Ailsa Anderson told the outlet, “In moments of anguish, stress, and crisis, she was the glue that kept us all together.”
“She was the calm in the face of problems,” Bedell Smith said. “People knew that they could count on her.”
Prince Charles and Queen Elizabeth on June 5, 2022.
Credit: Getty
Kate Middleton and Queen Elizabeth on June 13, 2012.
Credit: Getty
As for the ongoing issues between her grandsons William and Harry, “She saw both of them, even after the estrangement,” a source close to the palace told People. “She also believed that you might have views, but you don’t have sides. She knew that families are complicated.”
“It’s very difficult,” Anderson added “The only two people who can mend this are themselves. She could have been the convener, but they have to take the first steps.”
As for the queen’s son Andrew—formerly Prince Andrew, and now a commoner—she “effectively sacked him and forced him to step back from public life, which clearly he didn’t want to do,” a former staffer told People. “I don’t think we should underestimate what it would take for a mother to do that. Throughout, she showed that when it came to the demands of family over the role, the role would win out.”
Queen Elizabeth on April 1, 2018.
Credit: Getty
Royal biographer Robert Hardman said that, when it comes to her legacy, “Her greatness remains. We tend to look at things through the prism of the present—particularly Andrew and Harry. But when you stand back and look at a 70-year reign and a 96-year life, those are important chapters, not the defining elements. She came into a man’s world, held that institution together, and handed it on in far better shape than people expected.”
Bedell Smith added, “I don’t think anybody can take away her extraordinary commitment to duty and service for 70 years. That’s what people should remember—that she never wavered.”
The royal family will attend events next week honoring the queen’s 100th birthday, and a new Queen Elizabeth Memorial design and a garden in Regent’s Park will be unveiled as part of the celebrations. A royal reception will take place on April 21 at Buckingham Palace celebrating the monarch’s life and legacy, and The Mirror reported that Charles is expected to make a special address honoring the occasion.
Read the original article on InStyle