Royal Family Member Shares Rare Insight Into Prince William and Kate Middleton's Family Dynamic

When it comes to the qualities that make Prince William and Kate Middleton's relationship work, Peter Phillips seems to consider these among the crown jewels.   

"Her and William make a fantastic team together," the 46-year-old, whose parents are Princess Anne and her ex-husband Mark Phillips, told Sky News Australia's The Royal Report. "Their kids are great, and they have the balance of public life and trying to be parents to three young children, which is always difficult."

Indeed, Peter said his cousin William and Kate—who are parents to kids Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, 5—have it "pretty right" in terms of juggling both their public duties and private family life. 

"As history has taught us, and anyone knows, that actually you want to be there for your children when they are of a certain age," Peter, who shares two children with ex-wife Autumn Phillips, continued. "You want to be able to go and drop them off at school, and pick them up from school, and go and watch matches, and be part of their school lives. I think that balance of doing the family life and also the public life, I think they've pretty much got that bang on." 

According to Sky News, Peter's interview was recorded before Kate opened up about her health—with her sharing cancer was found following her abdominal surgery in mid-January.

"This of course came as a huge shock," Kate said in a March 22 announcement, "and William and I have been doing everything we can to process and manage this privately for the sake of our young family."

Doing so, she continued, "has taken time. It has taken me time to recover from major surgery in order to start my treatment. But, most importantly, it has taken us time to explain everything to George, Charlotte and Louis in a way that is appropriate for them, and to reassure them that I am going to be ok." 

Kate, who said she is undergoing preventive chemotherapy, then gave an update on her health.

"As I have said to them, I am well and getting stronger every day by focusing on the things that will help me heal; in my mind, body and spirits," she shared. "Having William by my side is a great source of comfort and reassurance too."

Kate isn't the only member of the royal family taking time for their health. King Charles III has been undergoing treatment following his own cancer diagnosis, which was announced in February, and Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York—the ex-wife of Prince Andrew—shared in January that she was diagnosed with malignant melanoma.

To review more royal news from this year, keep reading. 

In a March 22 video message, the Princess of Wales shared that she'd been diagnosed with cancer after undergoing abdominal surgery in January.

"It was thought that my condition was non-cancerous. The surgery was successful," she said before noting that tests after the operation found cancer had been present. "My medical team therefore advised that I should undergo a course of preventative chemotherapy and I am now in the early stages of that treatment."

After photo agencies pulled the picture Kensington Palace shared of Kate since having her abdominal surgery on March 10, the Princess of Wales addressed claims the photo was doctored. 

"Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing," she tweeted on March 11. "I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused. I hope everyone celebrating had a very happy Mother's Day. C."

Princess Diana's niece celebrated Mother's Day in the U.K. by sharing she and her husband Michael Lewis privately welcomed their first baby.

“It’s the joy of my life to be your mummy, little one. I love you unconditionally," she captioned her March 10 Instagram post. "Happy Mother’s Day to those who celebrate today."

After keeping up her full slate of engagements in the wake of her husband's cancer diagnosis, the palace cleared Camilla's schedule.

The Times pointed out March 2 that the 76-year-old didn't have any engagements on her calendar until March 11, when she'd be due at Westminster Abbey to observe Commonwealth Day.

The husband of Lady Gabriella Windsor and ex-boyfriend of Pippa Middleton, was found dead Feb. 25. Days later, a coroner's inquest found that he died by suicide.

While King Charles III was in the hospital for his benign prostate enlargement procedure, the royal family member was diagnosed with cancer.

"His Majesty has today commenced a schedule of regular treatments, during which time he has been advised by doctors to postpone public-facing duties," Buckingham Palace said Feb. 5. "Throughout this period, His Majesty will continue to undertake State business and official paperwork as usual.The King is grateful to his medical team for their swift intervention, which was made possible thanks to his recent hospital procedure. He remains wholly positive about his treatment and looks forward to returning to full public duty as soon as possible."

The Duchess of York's rep said in a statement on Jan. 21 that Sarah was recently diagnosed with malignant melanoma, an aggressive form of skin cancer. Several months prior, she underwent a single mastectomy to treat breast cancer.

On Jan. 14, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark made history as she officially abdicated the throne, handing the crown over to her son, now known as King Frederik the 10th. 

Kensington Palace announced on Jan. 17 that Kate Middleton underwent planned abdominal surgery and was set to remain in the hospital for 10 to 14 days.

"Based on the current medical advice," the Palace said, "she is unlikely to return to public duties until after Easter."

Amid Kate's recovery, Prince William postponed a number of engagements as he supported his family, including the couple's three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.

Shortly after Kate's hospitalization was made public, Buckingham Palace shared that Charles "has sought treatment for an enlarged prostate."

"His Majesty's condition is benign and he will attend hospital next week for a corrective procedure," the statement added. "The King’s public engagements will be postponed for a short period of recuperation."

Princess Claire and Prince Felix of Luxembourg welcomed son Balthazar Felix Karl on Jan. 7, the first royal baby of the New Year!