Princess Catherine of Wales has a “renewed sense of hope and appreciation of life” and says her focus is now to “stay cancer free” after months of treatment.
Nine months after largely disappearing from public view for major abdominal surgery which revealed a cancer, Princess Kate — the likely next Queen of the United Kingdom and over a dozen other countries besides, all being well — has announced the start of a return to public life after treatment.
“I cannot tell you what a relief it is to have finally completed my chemotherapy treatment” she said through a short Instagram video on Monday, showing family scenes of the Princess hugging and playing with her children and husband Prince William, the first-born son of Britain’s King Charles III. “The last nine months have been incredibly tough for us as a family”, Kate continued, saying her experience of cancer treatment had been “unpredictable”, but nevertheless she is now “cancer free”.
A long journey remains, however, as the Princess said: “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.
“I am however looking forward to being back at work and undertaking a few more public engagements in the coming months when I can.”
The message is the latest development in a difficult health year for the British Royal Family, with both the King and future Queen being diagnosed with cancer, leading to both largely disappearing from public view. As reported, the last time Kate had been seen for months was Christmas Day 2023, the next thing heard of the Princess being mid-January, when the Royal Family announced she had been admitted to hospital for “major abdominal surgery”.
This was to involve weeks of recovery and she would not be seen again until Easter, although this estimate proved optimistic. At the same time, the King was revealed to be undergoing treatment for a “benign” enlarged prostate, although like Princess Kate the diagnosis was later changed to a cancer.
Princess Kate became the subject of huge public speculation and even an attempt to access her health records by a snooper.