Catherine’s cancer diagnosis puts British royals on even more uncertain ground

Catherine, Princess of Wales, has been diagnosed with cancer and has started chemotherapy, she announced on Friday. She provided a grim coda to months of rumors about her condition, plunging the British royal family into deep uncertainty as two of its most senior figures grapple with serious problems. health issues.

Her diagnosis follows that of King Charles III, who announced his own cancer diagnosis and treatment in early February. Like the king, Catherine, 42, did not specify what type of cancer she had nor what her prognosis was.

In a pre-recorded video released on Friday evening, Catherine said: “It’s been an incredibly tough few months for our whole family,” as she described having major abdominal surgery in January and then discovering through subsequent tests that she had a form had cancer. .

Catherine, 42, who looked tired but determined to express hope for her recovery, said she and her husband, Prince William, were helping their three children, George, Charlotte and Louis, cope with having a sick mother.

“This obviously came as a huge shock,” said Catherine, “and William and I have done everything we can to process and manage this privately, for the sake of our young family. You can imagine that this took time.”

“We hope you understand that as a family we now need some time, space and privacy while I complete my treatment,” said Catherine, who wore a simple striped sweater and sat on a bench against the backdrop of early spring. flowers, in the video, which was shot by BBC Studios on Wednesday.

Catherine’s announcement came with a thunderclap in a country where popular members of the royal family – and Catherine is certainly one – are still sometimes treated like members of any British family. It provoked an outpouring of sympathy from public figures and ordinary people, for many of whom Catherine symbolizes the future of the royal family – a glamorous yet recognizable figure, born outside the monarchy, who became a princess and mother in the unforgiving gaze of the audience. .

The announcement also put an end, at least for now, to the flood of rumors and conspiracy theories circulating on social media and the news media about Catherine’s condition and even whereabouts. But like Charles, Catherine’s announcement left many questions unanswered.

Palace officials did not provide details about the type of cancer, how far it had progressed or how long she would receive chemotherapy. A spokesperson said she had started treatment at the end of February and was on a “path to recovery”. Officials asked the news media not to speculate about her condition, in a perhaps futile effort to avoid another round of questions.

But any expectation that Catherine would resume her official duties after Easter, as the palace once said, seemed to have disappeared. A palace official said it would not share any further personal medical information about Catherine, adding that the princess was entitled to medical privacy, “as we all do.”

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak wished Catherine well and pointed the finger at those fueling rumors about her.

“She has been subjected to intense scrutiny and unfair treatment by certain sections of the media around the world and on social media,” said Mr Sunak about X. “When it comes to health issues, she, like everyone else, should be given the privacy to focus on her treatment and be with her loving family.”

For the royal family, Catherine’s cancer is another major blow, sidelining one of its most visible figures at a time when its ranks were already depleted. In addition to Charles, who has canceled public appearances to undergo his treatment, the family has been adjusting to the loss of Queen Elizabeth II, who died in 2022; the departure of Prince Harry and his wife Meghan; and the exile of Prince Andrew, disgraced by his association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Harry and Meghan released a statement saying they wished “health and healing for Kate and the family, and hope they can do this privately and in peace.”

Buckingham Palace said Charles was “so proud of Catherine for her courage to speak as she did.” The palace noted that the king had visited her while they were both being treated in a London hospital and said Charles “has remained in closest contact with his beloved daughter-in-law in recent weeks.”

Catherine offered a timeline of her medical treatment that was eerily similar to that of her father-in-law. At the time her surgery was performed, doctors believed her condition was non-cancerous. The surgery was successful, she said, but on further tests the doctor found evidence of cancer. They recommended chemotherapy, which she said she had recently started.

The palace said the king’s cancer was discovered following a procedure for an enlarged prostate. While the palace has said he does not have prostate cancer, it has not specified what type of cancer it is or what his prognosis is.

Until Catherine’s video, Kensington Palace, where William and Catherine have their offices, had released even fewer details about her condition, an information vacuum that has contributed to a series of rumors and conspiracy theories on social media.

British newspapers have found themselves in a difficult position as courts have ruled that the right to privacy extends to members of the royal family. The Editors’ Code of Practice, under which much of the UK press operates, protects all individuals from unwarranted intrusion on matters of physical and mental health.

Catherine suggested that the family needed a zone of privacy where she could come to terms with her situation and explain it to her children. The announcement was timed for Friday, a palace official said, because the children had just started their Easter break from school and would not have to deal with the media frenzy — or, presumably, endure questions about their mother from classmates .

“It took me time to recover from major surgery before I could start my treatment,” Catherine said. “But most importantly, it has taken us time to explain everything to George, Charlotte and Louis in a way that suits them, and to reassure them that I will be fine.”

“As I told them,” she continued, “I am doing well and getting stronger every day by focusing on the things that will help me heal; in my mind, body and spirit.”

Rumors about Catherine’s health quickly began to circulate after Kensington Palace announced in January that she would go to the London Clinic, a private hospital, for abdominal surgery and stay there for ten to fourteen days. There were no photos of her children entering or leaving the hospital to visit their mother, and only a single photo of William, behind the wheel of a car, leaving the hospital.

Four weeks after Catherine’s release, William abruptly withdrew from a memorial service for his godfather, King Constantine of Greece, citing a “personal matter,” which accelerated speculation about Catherine on social media.

On Mother’s Day in Britain, Kensington Palace published a photo of Catherine with her three children, taken by William. The aim was to quell speculation about her, but the photo sparked a new round of conspiracy theories after The Associated Press and other news agencies reported that the photo had been digitally altered.

Catherine apologized for the editing, which she said she was responsible for, and attributed it to an amateur photographer’s innocent desire to improve the image. But it raised questions about the way the royal family communicates with the public: Catherine has photographed many members of the royal family in private settings, and those photos have often been published by British newspapers.

This week, video emerged of William and Catherine walking out of a grocery store near their home in Windsor. The palace, as it has done throughout this period, refused to confirm the images, leading to further speculation.

Despite all the questions left unanswered, royal watchers said Catherine’s video on Friday was a step in the right direction.

“The video message is a welcome intervention and will hopefully do much to dispel the wild rumors and speculation of the past three weeks,” said Ed Owens, a royal historian. “Such transparency is what we need from the royal family if we want to ensure public trust is maintained.”