Princess Kate Makes History with New Appointment from Father-in-Law King Charles

Today would have been a big day for the Princess of Wales anyway—her youngest, Prince Louis, turns six years old—but April 23 has become even more special for Kate. As she continues to privately focus on her health following her March 22 announcement that she has been diagnosed with cancer, her father-in-law, King Charles, helped her make some history today, appointing her as the Royal Companion of the Order of the Companions of Honour.

The Order of the Companions of Honour was founded by King George V in 1917 to recognize outstanding achievements in the arts, sciences, medicine, and public service. Members are limited to 65 at a time (although people from outside Commonwealth countries can be counted as additional honorary members) and currently include the likes of David Attenborough, Anna Wintour, Elton John, Judi Dench, and Maggie Smith, People reports. Kate makes history as the first Royal Companion named to this order, and is likely a reflection of her interest in the arts, as is evidenced through her work as patron of the National Portrait Gallery, the V&A Museum, and the Royal Photographic Society.

“He has always had a very good bond with her,” royal biographer Sally Bedell Smith told People. “I don’t think it is presumptuous to say that she is like the daughter he never had. He shares with [Prince] William an impulse to protect her. They are in this together, Kate and the King.”

Unfortunately, like his daughter-in-law, the King, too, is battling an undisclosed type of cancer, also discovered earlier this year. About six weeks after announcing his own diagnosis on February 5, on March 22 Kate announced via video message that she was undergoing treatment for the disease, and Charles was “so proud of Catherine for her courage in speaking as she did,” Buckingham Palace said.

A royal source speaking to People said that apart from being King and future queen, they are also “two patients going through a common health experience,” they said, noting they “are bound to have a close connection…I imagine there was some comfort [for Kate] in seeing…that it was possible to balance some private information without there being an imperative to share all.”

In addition to Kate’s appointment announced today, William and Queen Camilla have also been given new honors, as well.