A Royal legacy in Yorkshire’s stand against cancer

When His Majesty the King and the Princess of Wales each shared their cancer diagnosis, the country was reminded that cancer is universal.

It crosses every boundary, from geography to age to social background, and it affects every family.

Now, that universality has been brought into sharp focus by a newly rediscovered link between the Royal family and the founding of Yorkshire Cancer Research.

Recent research by Australian historian Michael Reed has revealed that both the King and the Princess of Wales have ancestors who helped establish the charity in 1925, leading to a century of pioneering breakthroughs that helped shape the way we prevent, diagnose and treat cancer today.

The King’s great-uncle Viscount Lascelles, and the Princess of Wales’s great-uncle Sir Charles Lupton both stood at the forefront of early efforts to fund and champion cancer research in our region.

A book published last year to mark the centenary year of Yorkshire Cancer Research acknowledged the vital roles of Viscount Lascelles, his wife Princess Mary and Sir Lupton in driving the charity’s impact.

Both Viscount Lascelles and Sir Lupton attended the first meeting of the charity, originally named the Yorkshire council of the British Empire Cancer Campaign at the Old Medical School at the University of Leeds in May 2025, alongside Yorkshire’s most eminent medics, aristocrats and industrialists.

Viscount Lascelles and Princess Mary on their wedding day, by kind permission of Harewood House 

Charles Lupton by kind permission of Leeds Libraries

The meeting led to the charity’s first public appeal for funds, launched in January 1926, which urged Yorkshire’s residents to “deliver the attack upon cancer, the great enemy of mankind, and become the new Saint George in the work of slaying the dragon”.

The appeal went on to raise £140,000 (equivalent to more than £7 million today) for cancer research in Yorkshire.

Viscount Lascelles went on to be elected as the charity’s first President, and after his death Princess Mary took on the role and continued in position for two decades.

Sir Lupton, despite being of retirement age, became the charity’s first Vice-President and served in the role until his death in 1935.

In 1925, cancer remained one of the most feared and least understood diseases. Public fear and reluctance to speak openly about cancer were widespread, shaped by negative beliefs and silence.

Against that backdrop, the decision of Viscount Lascelles and Sir Charles Lupton to act was genuinely remarkable.

A century after their ancestors helped lay the foundations of cancer research in Yorkshire, the King and Princess of Wales have faced cancer diagnoses of their own – and their decision to speak publicly about their experiences demonstrates the progress made over the past century.

The impact of their openness shows how breakthroughs can happen when people with influence use their platform to empower others.

Their candour has already had meaningful impact: doctors and health charities reported that King Charles’s televised update immediately prompted people to seek out cancer information and screening guidance online, reflecting a surge in public engagement sparked by his message.

By urging the nation to prioritise early detection, he drew attention to the UK’s nine million overdue screening appointments, turning his personal experience into an unprecedented public call to action.

Similarly, following the Princess of Wales’s announcement of her cancer diagnosis, NHS England saw 2,840 visits to its cancer information page in 24 hours - five times the previous week’s figure.

Moments like this show how public awareness and scientific innovation go hand in hand, helping to accelerate the kind of research that has fundamentally reshaped how we detect, understand and treat cancer.

The world today is unrecognisable from the one our founders knew. Over the past century, research has delivered extraordinary advances: earlier diagnosis, more effective treatments, improved survival and a far deeper understanding of how cancer develops, spreads and can be prevented.

Here in Yorkshire, we have helped drive much of that change. We’ve funded world-leading researchers, championed new screening approaches and invested in studies that have shaped national policy. ‑leading researchers, championed new screening approaches and invested in studies that have shaped national policy.

From early discoveries that helped shape modern chemotherapy and led to the creation of the breast cancer treatment tamoxifen, to the development of Lynparza, a drug now transforming treatment for cancers linked to genetic changes, many of the world’s most significant cancer advancements began in Yorkshire with funding from Yorkshire Cancer Research’s supporters.

Today, our work remains rooted in the needs of people in Yorkshire, from tackling stark regional health inequalities to improving access to life‑saving screening.

Our support for the IMProVE prostate screening trial is just one example. Prostate cancer still claims too many lives that could be saved with earlier detection. IMProVE will investigate whether a programme that combines blood tests with MRI scans could save lives and if so, how it can be organised to reduce health inequalities.

The charity’s pioneering PROTECT-C trial clinical trial sits at the forefront of genetic testing, offering thousands of women the chance to identify inherited cancer risks earlier and transform how high-risk cancers are prevented.

And the charity’s research-backed cancer exercise treatment service Active Together is demonstrating the crucial impact of prehabilitation and rehabilitation for people with cancer, showcasing a new approach in the way we help people prepare for and recover from cancer treatment.

Looking ahead, Yorkshire is poised to help lead the next great shift in cancer research, a future where diagnosis is earlier, treatment is more precise and prevention becomes personalised.

Precision prevention will mean identifying people at higher genetic or environmental risk long before cancer develops, giving them tailored options to reduce or manage their risk.

Personalised treatment is becoming increasingly possible as scientists learn to analyse the genetic make‑up of each individual tumour. This means treatments can be chosen because they are most likely to work for a person’s specific cancer, reducing side effects and improving survival. Immunotherapies, targeted drugs and combinations of treatments are already transforming survival for many cancers, and research continues to refine these approaches.

Early detection is advancing rapidly, with new tools such as MRI‑based screening, improved imaging, and emerging blood tests that are detecting cancer through tiny fragments of tumour DNA circulating in the bloodstream. These breakthroughs, once provided universally, could help diagnose cancers at their earliest, most treatable stage.

Yorkshire is already part of this future. Through studies such as IMProVE and PROTECT‑C, our region is helping to develop approaches that could have a national, or even global, impact. This forward‑looking research continues the pioneering work that began a century ago and ensures Yorkshire remains at the forefront of efforts to save lives through prevention and early diagnosis.

While the Royal connection is powerful, the true story of our charity has always been one of collective effort. Generations of volunteers, fundraisers, clinicians, researchers, patients and families have shaped progress by speaking up, taking part and pushing for better.

It is people in Yorkshire who have joined screening programmes and clinical trials, hosted awareness events, funded pioneering studies and shared their experiences to help others seek help earlier.

Every breakthrough we’ve achieved has been made possible because our region believes in the power of research.

As we strive for a Yorkshire free from cancer, the rediscovered Royal connection offers inspiration.

It reminds us that progress begins when people choose to stand up and lead, whether they are public figures, scientists, researchers, medical professionals, councillors, teachers, business owners or families affected by cancer.

To continue this legacy, everyone in Yorkshire can play a part.

• Communities can champion prevention, encourage loved ones to attend screening and help reach those at risk of being left behind.
• Businesses can support raise awareness of risk factors, empower staff to know and act upon early signs of cancer and help fund research.
• Policymakers can ensure Yorkshire has equal access to innovations in cancer prevention and diagnosis, advancements in screening, effective stop smoking support and fair research funding.
• Clinicians and researchers can continue pushing boundaries to deliver earlier diagnoses and kinder, more effective treatments.

As Chief Executive of Yorkshire Cancer Research, I am deeply moved by the knowledge that our charity’s earliest leaders with such forward-thinking vision included ancestors of two of the most influential figures in public life today.

Their legacy, revived through this new research, is a reminder that progress requires courage, compassion and collective action.

A century ago, our founders stood together in the belief that a better future was possible. Today, with cancer touching every corner of our society, that belief is more important than ever.

As we look to the future, it is now it is our turn as a region, as communities and as individuals, to continue to make our stand.