LONDON, United Kingdom — Prince William has described the past year in which his wife Catherine and his father, Britain's head of state King Charles III, each battled cancer as "brutal" and probably the "hardest" of his life.

The heir to the British throne was speaking to reporters on Thursday at the end of a four-day visit to South Africa for his Earthshot prize initiative.

Buckingham Palace in February announced that Charles, 75, had been diagnosed with an undisclosed cancer and would withdraw from public life to undergo treatment.

The following month his daughter-in-law Catherine, Princess of Wales, 42, revealed that she too had been diagnosed with cancer and was undergoing chemotherapy.

"Honestly, it's been dreadful. It’s probably been the hardest year in my life," William said.

"So, trying to get through everything else and keep everything on track has been really difficult."

Both Charles and Catherine have since made limited returns to public duties, although Charles is still undergoing treatment.

Catherine said in September that she had completed her chemotherapy and was looking forward to undertaking more engagements "when I can".

"I'm so proud of my wife, I'm proud of my father, for handling the things that they have done," William added.

"But from a personal family point of view, it's been, yeah, it's been brutal," he said.

This year's awards ceremony for William's Earthshot prize was held in Cape Town on Wednesday.

The initiative honours projects seeking novel solutions to the challenges facing the world's nature and climate.

William is also committed to a five-year programme, Homewards, launched by his philanthropic foundation to tackle homelessness in the UK.

When told he appeared relaxed, William said he "couldn't be less relaxed this year".

"It's more a case of just crack on and you've got to keep going," he said.

"I enjoy my work and I enjoy pacing myself, and keeping sure that I have got time for my family too," he added.

In addition to health problems, the royal family has this year faced continuing tensions surrounding William's estranged brother Harry.

Harry's ties with his family have been increasingly fraught since he and wife Meghan quit royal life and moved to California in 2020.

William and Harry used to be close -- a bond that was forged with the death of their mother Princess Diana in 1997. But according to British media reportskudos8, they have not spoken to each other in two years.

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