8 Biggest Bombshells From Newly Updated King Charles III's Biography: From Allowance Cuts to Cancer Scare and More

Royal author and historian Robert Hardman added new chapters to his biography of King Charles III, Charles III. New King. New Court. The Inside Story, to cover the royal developments that happened after its initial publication in January.

One of the key topics in the republished version revealed Kate Middleton and Prince William's opposing attitudes to their faith amid the Princess of Wales' cancer battle. A source said the heir to the throne does not have the "same interest in faith and spiritualism" as his father or share Queen Elizabeth II's "solid devotion to the Anglican communion."

"He is a modern young man," the insider told the writer. "…and I think he gets embarrassed by certain aspects of ceremonial and religion."

The updated book revealed the Prince and Princess of Wales — even their staff at Kensington Palace — were "astonished" at the reaction their Mother's Day photo received after they posted it in March.

AFP, Associated Press, Reuters and Getty issued a kill notice to retract the photograph amid claims of digital alterations.

"The industry’s concerns about the threat of artificial intelligence (AI) to the integrity of mainstream photography were well known," said the author.

A Waleses staff said, "There were several factors. Anything written or said about the Princess of Wales at that point was at fever pitch and front page news. It also spoke to the nervousness of the photography industry around AI and their future. Even so, the reaction seemed extremely disproportionate."

According to the unnamed aide, Kate — as far as she was concerned — only wanted to bring joy through the Mother's Day photo in question.

"Cancer is a very scary word if you're a king or anyone else. It's a big shock. But he is a great one for taking things on the chin," a source said of King Charles and his health status. "'How are we going to get on with this?' He was very clear that he would carry on doing all of the constitutional stuff in exactly the way that he did before."

The book Charles III. New King. New Court. The Inside Story disclosed the monarch had a cancer scare years before he was diagnosed with the dreaded illness. While it did not mention when exactly it happened, several outlets reported about King Charles' surgery to remove a non-cancerous "minor growth" from his face a decade ago.

King Charles withdrew Prince Andrew's annual $1.3 million allowance after the Duke of York refused to move out of the Royal Lodge, the book confirmed.

According to the biography, King Charles "instructed to sever his living allowance" so "the duke is no longer a financial burden on the King."

"He claims to have found other sources of income related to his contacts in international trade, sufficient to cover all his costs – which would be a welcome outcome for all parties if that turns out to be the case," said an insider. "But as to whether this funding can be relied upon in the long term is another matter."

In the biography, a source claimed there was support offered to Meghan Markle to assist her in adjusting to royal life. However, the Suits alum rejected them due to trust issues.

"It was Clive [now Sir Clive Alderton, private secretary to King Charles] who said that if we could get this right for Harry, we'd be creating a blueprint for future younger sons for generations," they explained.

The insider said Meghan's claims the palace refused to help her were false.

A source said Queen Elizabeth devised a plan for Frogmore Cottage after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex quit the U.K. While many believed King Charles arranged for Prince Andrew's transfer to the property, the book noted it was not the case.

"Had she lived another year, he would have been out," the source said, referring to the late Queen's death in 2022. "It was her plan to move him out, to end the lease for the Sussexes at Frogmore Cottage and to move Andrew in there. It was mainly a money thing, as she could see it was becoming unsustainable."

According to the book, royal officials began to consider removing the term "empire" from British honors.

Instead of "Order of the British Empire," they suggested awarding people with an "Order of the British Excellence" or "Order of Elizabeth." Regardless of the alternative, traditional, colonial-era titles would still be retained for those who wanted to receive and accept them.

"Any change is a matter for the government, but I think that they would find that this place was pretty open to the idea," said a senior palace official.

King Charles fears there could be serious legal peril if he decided to bury the hatchet with Prince Harry, the book revealed.

The king's estranged son has been embroiled in an ongoing legal case over taxpayer-funded security protection for him and his family in the U.K.

"So imagine the situation if the Prince were to talk to his father about his court case and then later to describe that conversation – or, worse, a conversation which was not entirely accurate," a constitutional adviser revealed in the book.

They added, "Harry would only have to say, 'My father said this' and a court case could collapse. That's not just awkward. That's bad. That is deep legal and constitutional jeopardy when you are head of state and of the judiciary and it is His Majesty's Government."