Kate, Britain’s Princess of Wales, says she has cancer and is undergoing chemotherapy.
Kate announced this in a video released on Friday.
The video announcement came after weeks of speculation spread on social media about her whereabouts and health since she was hospitalised in January for unspecified abdominal surgery.
Kate, the 42-year-old wife of the heir to the throne Prince William, called the cancer discovery a “huge shock”.
The news comes as a fresh health blow to the British royal family, with King Charles also undergoing treatment for cancer.
Kate spent two weeks in hospital in January after undergoing what her office said at the time was successful, planned surgery for an unspecified but non-cancerous condition.
However, Kate said in a video message that subsequent tests had revealed cancer had been found.
The princess, who said she was well and getting stronger, noted: “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.”
UK’s King Charles diagnosed with cancer
She was dressed in jeans and a jumper and looked pale and tired in the video, which was filmed on Wednesday.
“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,” she added.
Following her operation, the palace had said the princess would not return to official duties until after Easter, which falls at the end of this month. But her absence from public life has provoked intense speculation and wild rumours on social media.
King Charles, 75, underwent a corrective procedure for an enlarged prostate at the same hospital as Kate in January.
Buckingham Palace revealed in February that he was to have treatment for cancer, meaning he has had to postpone his public royal duties.
“His majesty is ‘so proud of Catherine for her courage in speaking as she did’,” a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said, saying Charles had been in close contact with Kate since they were at the private London Clinic together in January.
Prince Harry, who has fallen out with William since he moved to California with his wife Meghan, also sent a message of support.
“We wish health and healing for Kate and the family, and hope they are able to do so privately and in peace,” Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, said.
Similar statements also poured in from British political leaders, and from the office of U.S. President Joe Biden, for the princess, who is popularly known by her maiden name Kate Middleton.
Kate’s office, Kensington Palace, said it would give no further details about the type of cancer that had been found, saying the princess had a right to medical privacy. It said she was on a recovery pathway and the preventative chemotherapy had begun in February.
Kate has not appeared at a public event since she joined other members of the royal family for a church service on Christmas Day.
However, a video filmed last Saturday by a member of the public which was published by the Sun newspaper showed Kate looking healthy, walking and carrying shopping bags alongside her husband at a farm shop in Windsor, near to their home.
She said: “We hope that you will understand that, as a family, we now need some time, space and privacy while I complete my treatment.
“My work has always brought me a deep sense of joy and I look forward to being back when I am able, but for now I must focus on making a full recovery.”
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