The mystery surrounding Kate Middleton and her health status remained for months. Since her abdominal surgery in January, only minor updates have been made by Kensington Palace, and only Prince William has told some minor details to the public while out on royal duty. Neither King Charles nor Queen Camilla said anything – but last Friday, Kate confirmed that she had received a cancer diagnosis.
The exact details surrounding Kate’s cancer aren’t known, and the palace has said she wants them to remain private. Meanwhile, during Easter, the family spent plenty of time together, as they stayed at Anmer Hall at Sandringham for several weeks.
Kate Middleton received plenty of scrutiny following her Mother’s Day picture, which turned out to have been manipulated. Luckily, one family member has had experience dealing with negative comments from both the media and the public: Queen Camilla. She and Kate Middleton have an extraordinary bond—and earlier this week, the queen finally broke the silence on Kate Middleton for the first time following the cancer diagnosis announcement.
Kate Middleton has cancer. The Princess of Wales decided to share the news a week before Easter through their social media channels, and the world was shocked.
Kate Middleton – cancer diagnosis announcement video
While it, of course, is a severe diagnosis, Kate, when sitting at a bench in the garden at Windsor, reassured fans – just like she did with her children – that she is “going to be ok.”
Kate Middleton’s complete statement read;
I wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you, personally, for all the wonderful messages of support and for your understanding whilst I have been recovering from surgery.
It has been an incredibly tough couple of months for our entire family, but I’ve had a fantastic medical team who have taken great care of me, for which I am so grateful.
In January, I underwent major abdominal surgery in London, and at the time, it was thought that my condition was non-cancerous. The surgery was successful. However, tests after the operation found cancer had been present. My medical team, therefore, advised that I should undergo a course of preventative chemotherapy, and I am now in the early stages of that treatment.
This, of course, came as a huge shock, and William and I have been doing everything we can to process and manage this privately for the sake of our young family.
As you can imagine, this has taken time. It has taken me time to recover from major surgery in order to start my treatment. But, most importantly, it has taken us time to explain everything to George, Charlotte, and Louis in a way that is appropriate for them and to reassure them that I am going to be ok.
“We now need some time, space, and privacy”
As I have said to them; I am well and getting stronger every day by focusing on the things that will help me heal; in my mind, body, and spirits.
Having William by my side is a great source of comfort and reassurance, too. As is the love, support, and kindness that has been shown by so many of you. It means so much to us both.
We hope that you will understand that, as a family, we now need some time, space, and privacy while I complete my treatment. My work has always brought me a deep sense of joy, and I look forward to being back when I am able, but for now, I must focus on making a full recovery.
At this time, I am also thinking of all those whose lives have been affected by cancer. For everyone facing this disease, in whatever form, please do not lose faith or hope. You are not alone.
As Kate Middleton revealed, the news became a “huge shock” to her family. Meanwhile, one can only imagine how Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis took the news. The young children – ten-year-old George, eight-year-old Charlotte, and five-year-old Louis – are Prince William and Kate Middleton’s biggest priority and will always be.
As the Princess of Wales is now facing chemotherapy, they want to protect their children as much as they can, and therefore, the fact that the cancer announcement video was released at 6 pm GMT was not a coincidence.
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Exactly when George, Charlotte, and Louis were notified about their mother’s cancer diagnosis is unclear.
How Kate Middleton broke the cancer news to her children
However, according to the Sunday Times, the cancer announcement video was released just a few hours after their children’s school had closed so that they wouldn’t immediately face questions about it from their friends. At that point, they had gotten the news.
“George is ten now and can’t be shielded from any of this now,” a palace source told the Times. “Once it’s at the school gate and in the school playground, he won’t be able to avoid it.”
So, how do you tell your children that you have cancer? One person, King Charles’ former butler Grant Harrold, argues that Prince William and Kate Middleton explained it differently to them.
Speaking with The Post, Harrold, who worked for Charles for seven years when he was the Prince of Wales, said that the couple most likely “sugarcoated” her health issues when they broke the news to Prince Louis.
“I’m sure it was a very difficult and very different conversation between children,” Grant Harrold told the NY Post. “For instance, for Louis, I’m sure the conversation was more sugarcoated than it was with George and Charlotte.”
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The former butler continued, “The older children can understand more, so I’d imagine it was a little more frank but undoubtedly staying positive, which is so important.”
“That’s why when you now look at the picture of Kate with her three children, it brings a tear to your eye. For any mother to have that conversation is huge and you can imagine Charlotte and George are going to be good supports for her.”
Prince William & Kate Middleton escape city life for countryside home
Moreover, Harrold stated that since Louis is only five, it’s fair to assume that the young prince “probably doesn’t understand too much” about his mother’s cancer diagnosis.
“It’s a tricky one. I’m sure the children will be handling it as any kids would be expected to handle it, but I think their parents are very good at being calm and collected, and I think that will rub off on the children,” he told the NY Post.
As the royal children won’t be back in school until April 17, Prince William and Kate Middleton decided to head to Anmer Hall to spend quality time together. Moreover, as it is very close to Sandringham House, where King Charles has recovered after his cancer treatments, it is not a big surprise that the Prince and Princess of Wales and their children have seen the king and Queen Camilla recently.
Queen Camilla has taken on a massive responsibility following King Charles’ cancer treatment, growing into a vital part of the royal family.
It has taken her many years to be accepted by the public, and these days, she is being praised for the way she has handled the very challenging situation with Charles’ cancer and all that comes with it.
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Some weeks ago, royal expert Angela Levin claimed that Queen Camilla is “holding the royal family up.”
Queen Camilla praised for taking on crucial role
“I mean, to wait till you’re 73 is a long time before you can take the crown. I think obviously, at his age, it’s very difficult, but he’s very determined, and he’s only really just started to be king,” Levin said while appearing on GB News. “Supporting him very much, absolutely by his side, is Queen Camilla, who is going to all the engagements that they would have gone to together on her own.”
“And so that way he will feel it’s still moving, it’s still running, and they can discuss it and talk about it. And I think that’s marvelous. I mean, she is holding the Royal Family up and being strong. If you imagine 30 years ago, people were saying the whole Royal Family would absolutely disintegrate, and she would be of no use.”
Levin added that Camilla has revealed she doesn’t like the spotlight. However, she’s become very “accessible” and makes people laugh when meeting members of the public.
“To support her husband. She understands him very well because they’ve been together for over 50 years, before they even got married. it’s a long time and they make each other laugh,” Angela Levin added while appearing on GB News.
Kate MIddleton received massive criticism after she posted her Mother’s Day photo on social media, which turned out to have been manipulated. News agencies pulled the picture from their website, and conspiracy theories surrounding Kate grew.
The cancer diagnosis announcement video, of course, showed that there was a reason behind her silence. However, arguments have been raised that the fact that she put out a manipulated picture of herself and her children was bad enough.
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As Kate Middleton became the subject of much scrutiny after the Mother’s Day picture, Camilla became a crucial support source for the Princess of Wales.
Queen Camilla’s ‘important’ support for Kate Middleton
In an interview with Today, The Telegraph’s associate editor, Camilla Tominey, claimed that the queen “has been trying to help [Catherine] through the media storm aspect in all of this.”
Tominey said, “I think before [Catherine] made the announcement because she was having to cope with the fallout of everything that was said about the Mother’s Day photo and everything else, I think Camilla lent some support.”
“Because let’s be honest, [Camilla] knows what it’s like to have a difficult press. She knows what it’s like to shepherd children through a media storm,” she added.
In February, Prince William made some shorter comments about his wife’s health status. Still, the royal family members have kept very quiet about both Kate and King Charles when getting questions about them in public. However, just days ago, Queen Camilla finally spoke about Kate.
As King Charles canceled several royal duties due to his cancer treatments, Camilla stepped up and took someone herself.
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Last week, just before Easter, the queen visited Shrewsbury, where she met many royal fans at a farmer’s market.
Queen Camilla breaks silence on Kate Middleton
There, Camilla, for the first time, spoke about Kate after the cancer diagnosis announcement – when two young girls gave the queen a sign.
It read, “Send our love to Kate,” and was decorated with both hearts and stars, as well as other cute drawings.
Queen Camilla, of course, stayed when she saw the sign.
According to royal expert Rebecca English, she told the young girls, “I know that Catherine is thrilled by all the kind wishes and support.”