Prince William's annus horribilis: What his handling of the crises of 2024 says about his leadership

There is a festive chill at Sandringham on Christmas Day morning - especially when you find yourself standing outside St Mary Magdalene Church at 5am, as I often have in my years as a royal correspondent.

Last year I watched as King Charles and Queen Camilla led the royal party to church on Christmas Day, followed by the Prince and Princess of Wales, holding the hands of their children as they spoke to the crowds.

The Princess kept a firm grip on playful Prince Louis while they were given Christmas cards and presents, along with dozens of flowers.

I could never have predicted that this was the last time we would see her in person for more than six months. I was expecting to head to Italy with the couple on a royal tour, but she wouldn't join the Royal Family on another official engagement until Trooping the Colour in June.

On 16 January, the Princess of Wales was admitted to hospital for major abdominal surgery. At the end of March, she went public with her cancer diagnosis and chemotherapy.

For her husband, it was the start of a year that he would go on to call "the hardest of his life".

It throws up memories of Queen Elizabeth's own "sombre year" of 1992 when there were multiple marriage breakdowns within the family and a major fire. At the time she described it with the now infamous phrase, "annus horribilis".

In 2024, Prince William faced not only his wife's ill health, but the King's cancer diagnosis too, and always there in the background was the apparently unresolved conflict with his brother Prince Harry.

But it was also a year in which certain aspects of Prince William's approach were cemented - family came first, the school run was prioritised. For the Prince of Wales, this time of turbulence appears to have reinforced what matters to him most.

Along the way, however, it has also become evident what kind of senior royal William wants to be. We've seen more of his apprenticeship as a global statesman, especially during the 80th anniversary of D-Day on a stage alongside world leaders - but the William way has also left some questioning certain choices he has made.

On 27 February, the Prince of Wales was due to give a reading at the thanksgiving service for the late King Constantine of Greece at St George's Chapel in Windsor. The illustrious guest list included European royalty.

Around an hour before the service was due to begin, however, Kensington Palace announced that the Prince would be unable to attend due to a "personal matter". There were reassuring words from the Prince's team that there was "nothing to panic about" but it was highly unusual.

Around this time, the Princess was given the news that cancerous cells had been discovered in post-operative tests.

Over the next three weeks, the couple told the children what was happening and had time to deal with their questions privately before going public.

"I think what was remarkable was just how hard it was for the Prince of Wales at the start of the year," says a friend of the Prince. "His wife had gone in for major surgery and it became worse than expected. Then there was, 'How do I tell my three children that Mummy is ill?'"

All of this was happening against the backdrop of the King's own cancer treatment, which he made public on 5 February.

"At a time when he was trying to protect his wife and children, he had that terrible thought that that if his father dies then everything changes," says the friend.

Several people who know the Prince personally or have worked with him this year told me that the spotlight on what was wrong with his wife took its toll on both William and Catherine.

"He was having to operate against the backdrop of the entire world questioning what was happening to his wife," one friend told me.

With his father largely out of action for several weeks and the Princess away from public duty, the royal diary was looking stretched. Prince William was adamant that public duty would have to wait until the situation at home was more settled.

It offered a hint of Prince William's way of doing things. Yes, he understood that his was a life where duty and service are expected. But for him, a man who had experienced immense loss at a young age, his wife and children were most important of all.

There were two other important factors at home that helped the Prince of Wales support his wife and children – his in-laws, the Middletons; and living in Windsor.

When the Princess made her public announcement about her diagnosis, the message was posted on royal social media accounts, and one of the first people to publicly respond was her brother James.

Alongside a childhood holiday photo of himself and his sister, he wrote: "Over the years, we have climbed many mountains together. As a family, we will climb this one with you too."

Together with his sister Pippa and parents Carole and Michael, the family became key to keeping life as normal as possible for the royal children. People living locally reported seeing Carole Middleton, who lives 30 miles away in Bucklebury, Berkshire, regularly driving in and out of Windsor Castle.

And when the Princess's surgery prevented her from driving, it was her mother who often drove her daughter to school to collect the three children.

The decision to move from Kensington Palace to Windsor Castle in 2022 also proved timely.

"Windsor has been a sanctuary. It has provided the protection and privacy the family needed this year," said a friend.

The family live in Adelaide Cottage, a four-bedroom house within the Castle grounds that is secluded enough to give the family freedom that Kensington Palace, which is located in central London, could not.

Snatched photos show the Prince of Wales using an electric scooter to get around the grounds. When on royal duty, he would occasionally reveal a snippet about life at home, such as his continued devotion to Aston Villa FC, or a favoured film or TV series – earlier this year he enjoyed action film The Fall Guy and more recently he and the Princess watched spy thriller series Black Doves on Netflix.

He has also taken his children to football matches at local clubs and both he and the Princess have continued to be part of school life at Lambrook, the private school in Berkshire that their children attend. During her treatment, the Princess was still able to be on the sidelines during sports days.

All of this appears to have pushed other personal issues right down the Prince's agenda.

The rancour between William and Harry is said to remain. Harry has visited the UK over the past 12 months but is not believed to have met his brother. They are thought to have not spoken to one another in around two years.

There have been new controversies around Prince Andrew in recent months too, including revelations about his links to Chinese businessman Yang Tengbo, who was barred from the UK after concerns about national security risks. Prince Andrew has said that he had ceased contact with Mr Yang.

But the prince did not attend the Royal Family's traditional pre-Christmas lunch.

Such matters will have been dealt with by the King but, as heir to the throne, William's voice in family matters is increasingly significant.

Robert Hardman, journalist and author of Charles III: New King. New Court. The Inside Story, says the relationship between Charles and his eldest son "has reached a new level of understanding".

"We still have a tendency to look at William as the kid, the apprentice, the understudy," he says. "But he's now been a front rank royal for 10 years. He's been around the block more than many current heads of State."

Unusually, much of what the Prince has said about his year has come directly from him rather than via formal statements or briefings.

During his visit to South Africa in November for the Earthshot Prize, the Prince's environmental project, he spoke about his passion for the cause but also about the struggles of 2024.

"From a family point of view, it's been brutal," he told the group of us who had travelled to Cape Town. For someone who has been guarded in the past, his language was surprisingly frank.

His demeanour was open and positive too, clearly energised by Earthshot and being back in Africa, but he a gave a glimpse into how he conflicted he was when he viewed his role as Prince of Wales.

"It's a tricky one," he said. "Do I like more responsibility? No. Do I like the freedom that I can build something like Earthshot, then yes."

What struck me the most after spending almost a week in Cape Town was how he framed his outlook on the modern monarchy, saying he wanted to do the job with a "smaller R in Royal".

"I'm trying to do it differently," he admitted, "and I'm trying to do it for my generation."

What he meant was not doing things in the same way as his father and grandmother.

Charles and William "are different characters", observes Robert Hardman. "The King is more intellectually curious, and spiritually and theologically engaged. These areas aren't of deep interest to William.

"The tone of their communication is different. The King remains fairly traditional. William has his own way of doing things."

Some have questioned the William way. One critic, Graham Smith, chief executive of the anti-monarchy group Republic, argues against the Prince's decision to focus his efforts on the issue of homelessness.

"[It is] crass and hypocritical of William to get involved in it, given the excessive wealth we gift him," he argues.

However, Mr Hardman disputes the notion that William's involvement in projects like this are inappropriate. "I think William is currently a more conventional Prince of Wales than his father was at this age. Prince Charles was a more radical heir to the throne.

"The creation of the Prince's Trust sounded alarm bells at Buckingham Palace and Downing Street. William isn't ringing alarm bells."

Prince William has far fewer patronages than his father. The King currently has 669 – many maintained from his 70 years as heir to the throne. Prince William's slimline, more focused approach leaves him with around 30.

It is a deliberate strategy: fewer projects but higher impact in the hope of bringing about social change. Those who have worked closely with him this year praise this approach.

"His contribution is unbelievable," said Hannah Jones, the CEO of the Earthshot Prize. "He has set the vision."

But that bold action comes with more risk.

Last month, I travelled to Newport in South Wales with the Prince to meet those working on his homelessness project in the city. It was 10 months since his wife's cancer diagnosis, her chemotherapy was complete and William seemed to me to be less burdened by life.

He was in listening mode, and spoke to dozens of people. In some of the conversations, it struck me how many ventured into the political.

The Prince told the project team to think differently, to be disruptors and challenge the way things had always been done.

"We drive in a very non-political lane," a royal source told me. "We use our platform to convene and shine the spotlight on a societal issue and that remains unchanged. We are feeling bullish about what we can achieve even in really hard circumstances."

In the years ahead William will no doubt face further challenges around his role. In this current age of social media, for example, deference and respect for monarchy isn't the mood in the room.

But it is clear from his public work that he doesn't view his future as one filled with plaque unveilings and handshaking.

"I have to be seen to be believed," is a quote attributed to his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II. For her grandson, the approach is more: "I have to be seen to be making a difference."

Through 2024, he has ticked off meetings with many world leaders from the Emperor of Japan to the President of South Africa rounded off by the US president-elect, cementing his role on the global stage, promoting the UK with a touch of soft diplomacy.

Next November, the COP climate summit is being held in Brazil and the Prince is "looking forward to playing a role there". An Earthshot Prize in Brazil may be a possibility too.

Ultimately, the development of Prince William as family man-meets-global statesman is ongoing - and he's looking increasingly comfortable juggling both roles.

Top picture credit: Getty Images