[ad_1]
The mood was somber Friday afternoon in the West Village section of Manhattan that some people call Little Britain after Catherine, Princess of Wales, announced she was being treated for cancer.
At Myers of Keswick, a shop on Hudson Street that sells British products such as Hobnobs biscuits, Wilkin & Sons jam and ale mince pie, Jennifer Myers-Pulidore, the owner, said she had seen the advert live while receiving text messages alarmed by their father. , Peter Myers. He opened the store 39 years ago and is now retired and lives in Keswick, England.
“I feel sorry for her,” said Myers-Pulidore, 45, who was born in New York and grew up spending summers in Keswick. With three children of his own, he said he could relate to the princess’s desire to broach the matter with her family before discussing it publicly.
“I understand wanting to protect children,” Myers-Pulidore said. “I can’t imagine living in the spotlight like them.”
He said he had not kept up with the recent wave of online speculation about why Catherine had not been seen much in public since she underwent abdominal surgery earlier this year. Ms. Myers-Pulidore had nothing good to say about those who had spread wild rumors.
“It’s horrible. It’s kind of pathetic that I couldn’t even have private time,” he said. “It almost makes me think I had no choice but to confess.”
For Ms. Myers-Pulidore, the news stirred painful memories of Princess Diana, a former Princess of Wales to whom the shop owner considers Catherine a spiritual heir.
“She, in England, is loved,” Myers-Pulidore said of Catherine. “People think of her as the people’s princess.”
After Diana’s death; the death of Queen Elizabeth II; King Charles’ cancer diagnosis; and the rift between William, Prince of Wales, and his brother, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Myers-Pulidore said she was worried about the future of the British royal family.
“I hope they make it,” he said.
Outside the store, Richard Barnett grimaced as he talked about the news.
“It’s all very sad,” said Barnett, a London native who has lived in New York for 35 years. He added that he hoped Catherine’s treatment would be successful and that her recovery would be quick and comfortable.
“I wish him the best,” he said. “And peace and quiet.”
When asked if he had followed the recent gossip and speculation about Catherine that Myers-Pulidore had condemned, Barnett nodded.
“It’s good that it stopped the rumors,” he said.
Outside Tea & Sympathy, a British restaurant a few blocks away on Greenwich Avenue, Dave Heenan shook his head when asked about the news.
“It’s horrible. I’m devastated: the whole royal family is cursed!” said Heenan, 81, who moved to New York from Newcastle, England, in 1963. She said that, like other Britons, she had come to love Catherine and was excited about their future.
“She is the only member of the royal family who could actually wear that crown,” he said.
One positive thing he was able to say was that he had been able to share his feelings with his fellow Englishmen: “It unites the English.”
Iain Anderson, manager of Tea & Sympathy, said he had recently become worried about Catherine because she was staying out of the public eye and rumors were flying about her. He said Friday’s announcement seemed forced.
“Maybe they had to say something because of public pressure,” said Anderson, originally from Gloucestershire, England. “If they had to open up about this and they didn’t want to, it’s unfortunate.”
Like Myers-Pulidore, she said she had a grim sense of déjà vu.
“We’ve had this all before with Lady Diana,” he said.
.
Michael West, a Briton who lives in Manhattan, said he remembered the death of Queen Elizabeth II two years ago, as well as King Charles’ cancer diagnosis.
“It seems like problems come in threes,” he said as he passed the British consulate on Second Avenue. “And it seems like, for that family right now, maybe the problems run into dozens.”
Mr West is originally from a village called Higham, famous as the place where Charles Dickens died. He said that, although Catherine had not been born into royalty, she had fit well into his Windsor role.
“Among my family and friends, people were happy with them,” he said of the family, adding, “They do their jobs with grace.”
Sean Piccoli contributed reports.