By: Jessica A. Dennehy
Princess Catherine of Wales, known by many as simply “Kate,” wife of Prince William of Wales and future Queen-Consort of the United Kingdom, announced Friday, March 22nd, that she has been diagnosed with an unknown form of cancer. The information was presented through a video medium believed to have been filmed on Wednesday the 20th. The video began with Princess Catherine thanking the public for their continued concern over her health, especially following her surgery back in January and her long recovery. She also commented that the past few months have been difficult for the Royal Family, as both King Charles III and the Duchess of York have been diagnosed with some variation of cancer since the beginning of 2024. The Royal then addressed the high quality and impressive caliber of the royal medical team before announcing to the world her cancer diagnosis. She then asked the public for an extended period of peace, quiet, and privacy to allow her to recover. Princess Catherine, a Grand Dame Cross of the Royal Victorian Order, had previously been out of the public’s eye under the pretense that she had been recovering from her abdominal surgery, which occurred earlier this year.
Back in late January, she was hospitalized for two weeks after undergoing her abdominal surgery on the 17th. Afterwards, Buckingham Palace announced that she would take time off on her official royal duties to recover and that she wouldn’t be expected to resume them until after Easter, which was the 31st of March. However, her initial surgery, whose cause was thought to originally be benign, later “found cancer had been present.” It took her some time to initially recover from the abdominal surgery before she began “early treatment” consisting of preventive chemotherapy in late February. A Royal Source explained that the reason for the delayed announcement was that the schools of Princes George and Louie and Princess Charlotte didn’t begin their Easter holidays until the 22nd, which was the day the video message was released.
The cancer diagnosis was a shock to the public, but the media’s speculation of the Princess’ health has been ongoing since her initial hospitalization. In a perceived attempt to mitigate these rumors and suspicions, the annual Royal Mother’s Day photo, a British Royal tradition, was released to the public on the 10th of March (British Mother’s Day is not the same date as American Mother’s Day). The photo consisted of Princess Catherine sitting with her three children: Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louie. However, the public , after close scrutinization, was able to determine that the photo was edited to some extent, marking her missing wedding ring and a misaligned zipper as evidence. The next day, the Princess of Wales admitted to intentionally altering the photos.
The British Monarch and the Princess’s father-in-law King Charles, who had also been diagnosed with cancer this year, is “so proud” of Princess Catherine of Wales announcing her diagnosis, according to a Buckingham Palace Spokesperson. The King also has sworn that they “remained in the closest contact” due to their treatments being placed at the same private London Clinic. Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, also said: “We wish health and healing for Kate and the family, and hope they are able to do so privately and in peace.”
