Catherine, Princess of Wales, has been diagnosed with cancer and has started chemotherapy, she announced in a video on Friday, in which she described the last two months as “incredibly hard for our whole family”.
Her diagnosis follows that of King Charles III, who announced his own cancer diagnosis and treatment in early February. It comes after a period of intense uncertainty over the health of Catherine, who underwent abdominal surgery in January and has largely disappeared from public view as she tries to recover.
Like the king, Catherine, 42, did not specify what kind of cancer she has, but asked the public and media to respect her wish for privacy.
“We hope you will understand that, as a family, we now need some time, space and privacy while I complete my treatment,” said Catherine, who is Prince William’s wife and future queen.
“This has of course come as a huge shock,” said Catherine, “and William and I are doing our best to process and manage it privately for the sake of our young family. As you can imagine, this took time.”
Catherine’s announcement is a somber coda to a period of increasingly wild rumors about her health and well-being. But it plunges the British royal family into a period of even deeper uncertainty, with the 75-year-old monarch and his daughter-in-law, wife of his eldest son and heir and mother of Prince George, second in line to the throne, facing serious health problems.
In her statement, Catherine said that at the time of the operation, doctors believed that her condition was not cancerous. The surgery was successful, he said, but on further tests, the doctor found evidence of cancer. They recommended a course of chemotherapy, which he said he had recently started.
“It took me time to recover from major surgery to start my treatment,” Catherine said in the video. “But more importantly, it took us time to explain everything to George, Charlotte and Louis in a way that worked for them and reassure them that I would be OK.”
Catherine’s announcement oddly echoed Charles’s. Buckingham Palace said the king’s cancer was detected after surgery for an enlarged prostate. While the palace has said he does not have prostate cancer, it has not specified what kind of cancer it is, nor what his prognosis is.
Until Catherine’s video on Friday, Kensington Palace, where William and Catherine have offices, had released even fewer details about her condition, an information gap that led to a flurry of rumors and conspiracy theories on social media. networking.
In the video, which Kensington Palace said was recorded by the BBC in Windsor on Wednesday, Catherine is seen sitting on a bench outside, with daffodils and trees in bloom behind her.
Her hands clasped in her lap, she begins by thanking the audience for their messages of support and understanding while she recovers from surgery, before announcing her diagnosis.
“In January, I had major abdominal surgery in London and at the time, my condition was deemed non-cancerous. The operation was successful,” he said. “However, tests after the operation found that there was cancer. Therefore, my medical team advised me to undergo a program of preventive chemotherapy and I am now in the early stages of this treatment.’
Catherine’s statement emphasized the importance of her three children and their well-being as a key factor in the timing of the announcement. “As I’ve told them,” she said, “I’m fine 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 also a great source of comfort and reassurance.”
The children’s school has now broken up for the Easter holidays. A Kensington Palace official said Catherine and William wanted to share the information when they felt it was right for them as a family.
Catherine concluded her statement in the video with a message for other people affected by a cancer diagnosis. “Right now, I’m also thinking of all those whose lives have been affected by cancer,” she said. “To all who are dealing with this disease, in whatever form it is, don’t lose faith or hope. You are not alone.”
