Kate’s Cancer Announcement: It ‘Came as a Huge Shock’
Unpacking the video from the Princess of Wales.
The Princess of Wales said in a video Friday “cancer had been present” following her major abdominal surgery in January. She in the early stages of “a course of preventative chemotherapy” on the recommendation of her medical team.
“This of course came as a huge shock,” Catherine said, clad in jeans and a sweater while seated on a bench in a garden. Talking directly to the camera, she continued: “William and I have been doing everything we can to process and manage this privately for the sake of our young family.” The 42-year-old princess, who did not disclose the type of cancer, repeated what she has told her three young children: “I am well and getting stronger every day by focusing on the things that will help me heal; in my mind, body and spirits.”
Below you will find a look at the announcement, how the information Catherine shared has been parsed, as well as the global response to this news. Keep scrolling for more of my thoughts on how this video is a result of these last several weeks, what aspects of the production and her remarks jumped out to me, and how Kensington Palace and Buckingham Palace have handled similar (but very different) situations.
This has been an unbelievably difficult stretch for the Windsors. My sincere hope is that Catherine and her family are now given the time, grace, and space they need during her treatment and recovery period.
Kate’s Cancer Announcement: ‘This of Course Came as a Huge Shock’
What did Catherine share in her video?
The Princess of Wales released a video statement Friday evening announcing “cancer had been present” in testing done following her major abdominal surgery on Jan. 16. On the advice of her medical team, Catherine said she has begun “a course of preventative chemotherapy” and is “now in the early stages of treatment.”
Seated on a bench in front of flowers in full bloom, wearing jeans and a Breton stripe sweater, the princess spoke directly to the camera. “This of course came as a huge shock,” she said, “William and I have been doing everything we can to process and manage this privately for the sake of our young family.”
She thanked the public for the well wishes and put forth a request: “We hope that you will understand that, as a family, we now need some time, space and privacy while I complete my treatment.” The princess closed with a message to others who have been affected by cancer. “For everyone facing this disease, in whatever form, please do not lose faith or hope,” she said. “You are not alone.”
About 24 hours after its release, the video had more than 85 million views on both Instagram and X/Twitter.
When did Catherine learn about her cancer diagnosis?
The princess did not say how long she has known, only that it has “taken me time to recover from major surgery in order to start my treatment.”
The BBC points back to Feb. 27, when William pulled out the memorial for King Constantine II of Greece. The service, in which William was scheduled to deliver a reading, took place six weeks after the princess’s surgery. The network reported that his absence was “because of the discovery of Catherine’s cancer diagnosis.” Richard Palmer, royal reporter for the Daily Express, confirmed that but added on Twitter: “It’s understood that it wasn’t a case of them finding out just before the service, to be clear.”
Why did Catherine not share the type of cancer?
She is not obligated to disclose any private health information with the public. The royal family has a long history of keeping these matters private (more here and here). The late Queen Elizabeth II had bone cancer at the end of her life, information that did not come out until after her death.
I would also note that King Charles has not shared the type of cancer he is currently being treated for; to the extent that there is a precedent, Catherine is following it. My guess is that even if she had wanted to say — which, to be clear, there is absolutely no indication of — it would have put the king in a difficult position.
How long has the media known about this?
The video of Catherine was filmed Wednesday, March 20 by a BBC Studios crew, according to the network. The news team, a separate division, was briefed with other royal reporters on Friday ahead of the video release at 6pm.
The wider media was given a head’s up about an hour ahead of the embargoed announcement (this was when I heard about it, too, from multiple sources). Emily Maitlis, on The News Agents podcast, offered more on what came with the news:
“Almost immediately accompanying that statement was a whole list of if you like questions that would not be answered. It imagined all the things we would want to know: the type of cancer, the type of treatment, the progress of the treatment, the timing and the date, all the rest of it. And they simply said, ‘There will not be any more information or any more answers on this.’ In other words, it’s a full stop.”
Maitlis said she took the approach as a “plea — in very real terms — from both the Princess of Wales’s family and from the palace” to stop the speculation and allow Catherine to recover in peace.
Why did Catherine share the news now?
Several royal reporters have pointed to the children’s school schedule. Friday marked the beginning of the Easter break for Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis. The new term begins April 17.
“They’re now able to take the children away from their school environment,” Victoria Murphy, an ABC News royal contributor, told the network, “keep them in a bubble with them, and really protect them from the outside world while all this news and while this reaction hits the rest of the world.” The Express’s Palmer added, “Friends are at pains to stress that it is not a reaction to ludicrous speculation.”
Also, this week there was news of an investigation into a possible breach of Catherine’s medical records. Russell Myers, royal editor of the Daily Mirror, broke the story that three staffers at the London Clinic “have been suspended on allegations that they accessed or tried to access the princess’s private medical data,” he told the Today Show. The breach happened “after the future queen was discharged from hospital on January 29,” Myers wrote in a follow-up this week, “as social media exploded with outlandish and hurtful conspiracy theories relating to her surgery.”
It feels worth noting, too, that Friday evening is famously a time when people or groups release news that they hope to minimize. (I know this to be true from my time covering politics. If you want everyone to see something, you share it on a weekday morning; if you want to downplay it as best you can, you release it on a Friday night or over the weekend.)
The princess said ‘cancer had been found’ — what does that mean?
That wording gave me pause, too, and I have not seen a definitive take on what that phrasing means. Comments from Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN’s chief medical correspondent, on the description of her treatment felt illustrative. More from his conversation with Anderson Cooper:
“They use this term ‘preventative chemotherapy” in the statement, which I think is a very non-medical term. You don’t give chemotherapy preventatively. She has cancer, we don’t know what kind of cancer it is. This is typically something that has been referred to as ‘adjuvant chemotherapy,’ meaning something alongside the surgery.”
According to the Mayo Clinic, “adjuvant therapy” is designed to keep cancer from returning. “Even if your surgery was successful at removing all visible cancer, microscopic bits of cancer sometimes remain and are undetectable with current methods,” the clinic explainer reads. There are many types of adjuvant therapy, including chemotherapy which “uses drugs to kill cancer cells throughout the body.”
When is Catherine expected to return to public duties?
No timeline has been given. “My work has always brought me a deep sense of joy,” the princess said on her video, “and I look forward to being back when I am able, but for now I must focus on making a full recovery.”
The Wales family will not walk to church at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor on Easter Sunday, according to several reports. Kensington Palace has also asked for privacy — and no photographs — as the princess moves through her daily life while in treatment and recovery.
What has the response been to the announcement?
The Princess of Wales received an outpouring of support from those near and far in the wake of the news. The king is “so proud of Catherine for her courage in speaking as she did,” tweeted Palmer of the Daily Express, one of several royal reporters briefed by the palace on the sentiment from Charles and Camilla. His Majesty has “remained in the closest contact with his beloved daughter-in-law throughout the past weeks.” Both the king and queen “will continue to offer their love and support to the whole family through this difficult time.”
Prince Harry privately reached out to his brother directly, according to Chris Ship of ITV News, along with Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex. The couple released a public message of support, too, shared by several media outlets: “We wish health and healing for Kate and the family, and hope they are able to do so privately and in peace."
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak shared his statement via X/Twitter, saying, “The Princess of Wales has the love and support of the whole country as she continues her recovery.” Keir Starmer, leader of the Labour Party, called out the “lurid” speculation from recent weeks: “Their Royal Highnesses are entitled to privacy and, like any parents, will have waited to choose the right moment to tell their children.”
In the US, both President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden offered support. “You are brave, and we love you. ~ Jill,” tweeted the first lady, while the president tweeted he was “praying for your full recovery, Princess Kate.” France’s President Emmanuel Macron closed his statement with, “Your strength and resilience inspires us all.”
How has the video been received?
I first want to say that we are in an extraordinary and unprecedented time, undeniably the result of the disinformation spread online and the choices made by Kensington Palace these last few weeks. I would never have guessed we would see the Princess of Wales announcing her cancer herself via a two-minute, 20-second video.
“It was a bold move,” wrote Lauren Said-Moorhouse and Max Foster on CNN. “This is someone who gets nervous speaking in front of cameras, let alone about such a deeply personal matter.” The Mirror’s Myers noted in his newsletter Kate’s “sharp intake of breath” at the start of the video, while Sean Coughlan, royal correspondent for the BBC, described a “disarming straightforwardness.” Hannah Furness in the Telegraph said Catherine “steeled herself for a video message — never the preferred medium for the naturally shy Princess.”