For months, the rumors swirled. She had vaccine-related injuries. She’d fled the country. She was dead. When Catherine, princess of Wales, went in hospital on January 16 and was hardly seen after, the Internet went crazy with speculation.

The truth was more mundane and more tragic. In the course of her abdominal surgery, cancer was discovered. She’d begun chemotherapy.

Buckingham Palace announced that King Charles iii had cancer on February 6. In both cases, the type of cancer has not been announced. King Charles has been forced to scale back his duties while the cancer is treated. The month before, Sarah Ferguson, the duchess of York, was diagnosed with a form of skin cancer.

Meanwhile, the drama surrounding Prince Harry’s rift with the royal family continues. He briefly flew to Britain to visit the King after the cancer diagnosis. As the Independent wrote: “There were hopes the 39-year-old’s visit from California would help repair damaged relationships between himself, his father and his brother the prince of Wales—but these hopes were soon dashed when it became clear he would not be seeing William during the trip.” In the end, Harry spent less than 24 hours in the country.

He also might follow Prince Andrew’s example of being dragged down by an American celebrity sex scandal. He was mentioned in a $30 million lawsuit accusing the rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs of sex trafficking and sexual abuse. It says that people attended his parties with sex-trafficking victims due to Combs’ “access to celebrities such as famous athletes, political figures, artist [sic], musicians and international dignitaries like British royal Prince Harry.” There’s no evidence Prince Harry did anything wrong, nor is he accused of taking part in the parties. It seems likely the lawsuit name-dropped the duke of Sussex just to get more headlines. But it’s more bad news.

However, the royal family hasn’t just been a victim. It’s made at least one catastrophic decision of its own.

Betraying Israel

“I remain deeply concerned about the terrible human cost of the conflict in the Middle East since the Hamas terrorist attack on 7 October. Too many have been killed. I, like so many others, want to see an end to the fighting as soon as possible.”

The statement is similar to many others we’ve heard from celebrities and activists. But this one came from Prince William, heir to Britain’s throne, the day before a key debate on calling for a ceasefire in Britain’s Parliament.

Britain’s monarchs never get involved in politics. The throne is meant to be something all, regardless of political views, can get behind. Politicizing it risks the survival of the monarchy itself, or so the theory goes.

Prince William is probably articulating deep personal convictions. Many clearly share his view. Most are well meaning—they read the stories of starving children, see the bombed-out families in Gaza, and want the war to end. But when a much larger number of dying children in Ukraine or Syria failed to elicit a similar reaction, there’s clearly an anti-Israel bias. If 1,000 British people had been killed and 130 were still held hostage, it’s hard to imagine the United Kingdom agreeing to a ceasefire. Any ceasefire without a total Hamas defeat will lead to them doing exactly the same thing again.

Saying that “too many have been killed” supports Hamas propaganda about the conflict. Its casualty figures are demonstrably false. Israel has been killing Hamas fighters—with civilians caught up in the killing at a lower rate than just about any other conflict. It’s a phenomenal achievement given that Hamas is actively putting women and children in harm’s way.

“Prince William has brought shame to the monarchy and done it real damage,” wrote Melanie Phillips. He’s brought it onto Hamas’s side and against the victims of October 7. He’s helping divide Israel from Judah, which will have real consequences.

Protection Withdrawn

“I believe that now that the Queen has died, Britain’s demise will accelerate,” wrote Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry in 2022. “We are about to see a very sad ending for that throne ….” A few years before that he warned that “we would see a rapid decline in Britain’s royal family.” Why?

Less than a year has passed since King Charles iii’s coronation. That ceremony declared that Charles was “set apart and consecrated” by God “for the service of his people.” If that is the case, it’s worth considering God’s verdict on this throne.

The Bible declares that “the powers that be are ordained of God” (Romans 13:1). But the royal family in Britain had a special link with God. For example, the stone of Scone was traditionally believed to be Jacob’s pillar stone from Genesis 35:14. But Britain rejected that tradition, and England rejected the stone, sending it back to Scotland in 1996.

About 10 months later, Princess Diana died in a car crash. “Did the royal family of David’s throne lose some of its protection from God?” asked Mr. Flurry. “I don’t know for certain, but it is interesting that it happened within a year of England surrendering the stone.”

Much of that protection has certainly been removed.

But would a loving God be behind a mother dying in a car crash? Or a mother with young children being diagnosed with cancer? The answer is tied directly to the reason this throne is declining.

In the Garden of Eden, God offered to show man the happy and joyful way of life that would lead to eternal life. This choice was symbolized by the tree of life. But mankind decided for himself what is good and evil, cut off from God. God gave man that freedom—but it requires them to live with the consequences. Mankind would have 6,000 years to experience those consequences and learn the hard way, through pain and suffering, that they need God.

But mankind was not doomed. The overwhelming majority lived and died without knowing God. The Bible reveals they will be resurrected and have an opportunity to make that choice—with the benefit of having experienced the results of going their own way. This time, the vast majority will choose life.

But even during these 6,000 years, God has not left mankind completely alone. He still shapes history to give the most people the best opportunity, in the long run, to choose life.

One key way He does this is through a throne.

God promised Israel’s King David that when his son Solomon ruled, God would “stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever” (2 Samuel 7:13). Many other scriptures repeat this promise (1 Chronicles 28:7; Psalm 89:4; Isaiah 9:7; Luke 1:32-33, to name a few).

Jesus Christ will ultimately rule on this throne. But He is not ruling on it right now. Instead He is sitting on His Father’s throne (Revelation 3:21). He won’t sit on David’s throne until His future return to Earth.

The kingdom of Judah was conquered in 585 b.c., and the throne of David disappeared. But God promised it would last forever. Even if Christ did fulfill this promise, He wouldn’t be on the scene for centuries.

Herbert W. Armstrong showed in his book The United States and Britain in Prophecy that God moved that throne to Ireland, then Scotland and then England. Britain’s royal family is descended from King David.

God said of Solomon: “I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men” (2 Samuel 7:14). In a world cut off from God, He had a Father-son relationship with him.

When the throne of David reached a real low, and an evil king was trying to stamp out true religion, God refrained from destroying that house “because of the covenant that he had made with David, and as he promised to give a light to him and to his sons for ever” (2 Chronicles 21:7). This throne would be a light pointing to God’s promise to rule the world and bring all mankind into this Father-son relationship.

For centuries, those who sat upon the throne were given a certain measure of protection so that light would not go out. But its rulers consistently failed to point men to God.

In these last days, God changed how He works with this throne and moved that light to a different descendant of David. The protection for the royal family is gone. Like everyone else, they are cut off from God, left to solve their problems alone. The tragic news of the last few months is a result of that.

But the light goes on. They’ll have their chance to learn from these experiences, just like everyone else. That light still points to God’s intent to offer all mankind the opportunity to choose life and be part of His Family.