Why Prince William is trying to keep his inner circle small amid Princess Catherine’s battle with cancer

Stiff upper lip and all that.

Prince William does his best to keep the proverbial lid on things while putting up with his wife Princess Catherine‘s scary and unexpected battle against cancer. That’s his father King Charles who is also dealing with a cancer diagnosis has made things doubly difficult for the 41-year-old Prince of Wales and the rest of his family. And in response to these terrifying challenges, he is closing ranks.

Related: Prince Harry Feud Will Cost Prince William a ‘Top Advisor’ When He’s King — Here’s Why

People spoke to royal sources early Thursday morning and they revealed that Kate Middleton‘s beloved husband doesn’t lean on too many others, while his wife and father are both battling cancer. Rather than opening his circle to a wide range of support, William has done things internally to show personal emotional support for Kate – and especially for their children. Prince George10, Princess Charlotte9, and Prince Louis6.

A second royal source confirmed the first insider’s claim by noting that William alone is heavily dependent on “the nuclear family unit” of their immediate family of five. However, he receives important support from two other people outside their nuclear family: Kate’s parents Carole And Michael Middelton.

William in particular has always been close to Carole since he and Kate got together. And now that bond is apparently blossoming behind closed doors, despite the development taking place under very difficult circumstances. The insider explained:

“I imagine he’s leaning on them very hard.”

As for Princess Catherine, she too has drawn mother Carole even closer than ever (obviously):

“You can drop your barriers when it’s your mother.”

Uhm. We can understand that. No matter how old you get, you always need your mother when times get tough.

As you might be thinking, these new insider quotes align quite closely with our reporting on Wednesday, which revealed William was “digging deep” for strength amid his 42-year-old wife’s uncertain health battle. But all this is one thing not The way in which William approaches his long-term vision of the monarchy is influential. These twin health crises have not led to a renewed focus on the fate of the Prince of Wales, an insider explains, because he has been preparing for that part for a long time:

“It will not have suddenly made him think about the future role. That’s something he’s been thinking about for years, if not decades.”

Sounds logical.

As for his broken relationship with Prince Harry, that’s a spot where Wills could use some help, but as of now he won’t get it. Royal biographer Ingrid Seward unfortunately explained to the mag:

“William would always have imagined having Harry next to him. In the future, this will place more responsibility on William and his family. There is no one else to pick up the slack.”

Oof. Obviously it’s a lot. Royal or not, battling a cancer diagnosis in the family – and now two of them is also a huge and daunting challenge. Sending love and light!

(Image via John Rainford/MEGA/WENN)