A handout still released by The Prince and Princess of Wales on September 9, 2024 and taken in Norfolk on an unspecified date last month shows Britain’s Catherine, Princess of Wales, smiling with Britain’s Prince William, Prince of Wales, and their children Britain’s Prince George of Wales, Britain’s Princess Charlotte of Wales and Britain’s Prince Louis of Wales. (Will Warr/Kensington Palace/AFP)
- Catherine, Princess of Wales, announced she completed chemotherapy after a shock cancer diagnosis earlier this year.
- The royal family faced a challenging year with both Catherine and King Charles III battling cancer.
- Catherine expressed gratitude and solidarity with fellow cancer sufferers in an emotional video message.
Catherine, Princess of Wales announced Monday that she had
completed her course of chemotherapy, in a highly emotional video message
following a shock cancer diagnosis earlier this year.
The heartfelt announcement will provide welcome relief for
Britain’s royal family after a troubled year in which head of state King
Charles III also revealed he was battling cancer.
He was seen on Saturday with his wife Queen Camilla and
other members of the royal family at the Braemar Gathering Highland Games, and
attended a church service to mark the second anniversary of his accession to
the throne.
The couple are also set to undertake a state visit to
Australia and Samoa next month, albeit with a slimmed-down timetable as he
recovers.
“I cannot tell you what a relief it is to have finally
completed my chemotherapy treatment,” Kate, as she is often called, said
in a message on X and Instagram.
The princess, 42, said the last nine months had been
“incredibly tough” for the family – her husband Prince William and
their children Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, nine, and Prince Louis,
six.
“Life as you know it can change in an instant and we
have had to find a way to navigate the stormy waters and road unknown,”
she said.
Catherine, a future queen seen as a key figure to maintain
the royals’ position in a changing Britain, added that “doing what I can
to stay cancer free is now my focus”.
“Although I have finished chemotherapy, my path to
healing and full recovery is long and I must continue to take each day as it
comes,” she said.
“I am however looking forward to being back at work and
undertaking a few more public engagements in the coming months when I
can.”
Catherine announced in March that she was undergoing a
course of “preventative chemotherapy” for an undisclosed cancer.
Solidarity
The announcement came just weeks after it was disclosed that
her father-in-law had also been diagnosed with cancer after undergoing
treatment for a benign prostate.
Charles, 75, was given the green light to resume public
duties in April after doctors said they were “very encouraged” by his
progress.
The video message shows Catherine and William looking
relaxed and happy with their children in the Norfolk countryside and at the
beach in eastern England where they have a home.
The couple are seen being openly affectionate to one another
with William at one point planting a kiss on Catherine’s cheek.
In other scenes, the family is seen walking through
woodland, having a picnic and playing cards.
The video was filmed last month, their Kensington Palace
office said.
Catherine added that the months since her diagnosis had
“above all reminded William and me to reflect and be grateful for the
simple yet important things in life, which so many of us often take for
granted. Of simply loving and being loved.”
“Everyone’s kindness, empathy and compassion has been
truly humbling,” she said.
And she expressed solidarity with fellow cancer sufferers.
“To all those who are continuing their own cancer
journey – I remain with you, side by side, hand in hand. Out of darkness, can
come light, so let that light shine bright,” she said.
Catherine has appeared in public on only a handful occasions
this year.
Tentative return
When she announced her cancer diagnosis in a video on March
22 she had not been seen in public since Christmas.
The disclosure came after royal officials said in January
that Catherine would spend two weeks in hospital for abdominal surgery.
That announcement came shortly before a separate statement
from Buckingham Palace that Charles was to have surgery.
He later spent three days at the same private hospital in
central London. Officials then said in early February that tests had identified
“a form of cancer”, without giving further details.
Catherine tentatively returned to UK public life in June,
attending a military parade in London to officially mark Charles’s birthday.
In July, she attended the Wimbledon men’s final at which she
received cheers as she walked onto court to present the trophy to Carlos
Alcaraz.
READ MORE | Princess Kate joined by Prince William and King Charles in first outing since Wimbledon
