22nd March, 2024
By Taiwo Okanlawon
Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales has revealed she has been diagnosed with cancer which was discovered while she underwent major abdominal surgery at the London Clinic at the start of the year.
In an emotional viral-video, Kate said she needed to recover from surgery before she could start “preventative chemotherapy”, as advised by her medical team.
According to the 42-year-old princess, she had needed time to come to terms with the news and tell her children Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, 5, before informing the world.
In her words, “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.”
Praising her husband as “a great source of comfort and reassurance”, Kate added: “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.”
The video was filmed at Windsor on Wednesday, but was released on Friday, when William and Kate’s three children began their Easter school holidays to shield them from coverage of their mother’s health.
Kate was last seen at an official royal engagement at Christmas, when she attended church with the rest of the family at Sandringham.
The news comes as a huge shock to the royal family with King Charles and the future queen now both fighting cancer at the same time.