Kate has finished her chemo. What's next?
'Out of darkness, can come light' — the princess's nine months of illness appears to be coming to an end
The news arrived in the form of an email sent by Kensington Palace on Monday, September 9 at 4:30 p.m. London time. “FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: A MESSAGE FROM CATHERINE, THE PRINCESS OF WALES” was the subject line, and the email contained the latest update on the health of Kate. The news was good — she’s finally finished her preventative chemotherapy treatments, which started in late February after cancer was detected in post-operative tests that followed abdominal surgery and 13-day stay in hospital in January.
Along with the written announcement was a three-minute video of Kate, Prince William, and their children, George, Charlotte, and Louis, which was filmed at and near their country home of Anmer Hall on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk.
The video is perhaps the most intimate, most emotional, and most personal video ever released by members of the royal family. William and Kate normally have high privacy walls around their family time, but not with this video or these photos. It’s as if they finally got to exhale after holding their breath for the past nine months.
The video’s ethereal style seems to highlight the ordinary scenes of a family comfortable in each other’s company: the family playing cards around a kitchen table with Kate’s parents, Carole and Michael Middleton; Kate folding her eldest, George, into an easy hug and kiss; William nuzzling his wife’s neck while they lay on a beach with their kids; a father gently getting a bug out of Charlotte’s long hair; kids joking around with each other.
They look relaxed, content, and, above all, happy.
THE NEWS
First, here is her official statement, which tracks the narration of the video:
As the summer comes to an end, I cannot tell you what a relief it is to have finally completed my chemotherapy treatment.
The last nine months have been incredibly tough for us as a family. 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.
The cancer journey is complex, scary and unpredictable for everyone, especially those closest to you.
With humility, it also brings you face to face with your own vulnerabilities in a way you have never considered before, and with that, a new perspective on everything.
This time has 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.
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.
I am however looking forward to being back at work and undertaking a few more public engagements in the coming months when I can.
Despite all that has gone before, I enter this new phase of recovery with a renewed sense of hope and appreciation of life.
William and I are so grateful for the support we have received and have drawn great strength from all those who are helping us at this time. Everyone’s kindness, empathy and compassion has been truly humbling.
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.
Though her chemo has ended, she’s not out of the woods yet. First there is the recovery from that treatment. As well, cancer treatment require a lot of follow-ups — bloodwork, scans, specialist appointments. As those dates come and go without any concerns from medical personnel, the time between visits lengthens and lengthens, and one begins to talk more optimistically about a cancer-free future. But one is always on guard, always watchful.
“Being cancer free is her focus, and this will take time,” explained the palace. “She is looking forward to undertaking a handful of public engagements in the coming months when she can.” That “handful of public engagements” clarifies that there will be no plunge back into her usual calendar of work but rather a gradual increase in duties, behind the scenes and in public.
She’ll undertake a “light programme of work” for the rest of 2024. Engagements already pencilled into her diary include Remembrance Sunday at the Cenotaph in London and her annual charity Christmas carol service at Westminster Abbey.
TIMELINE
Jan 17: Kensington Palace revealed that the Princess of Wales had undergone abdominal surgery on Jan. 16 (non-cancerous), and she would be in hospital for 10-14 days, with a recovery extending until Easter (March 31). Around 90 minutes later, Buckingham Palace announced that King Charles III would undergo a procedure the next week for an enlarged prostate.
Jan 29: Kensington Palace says that Kate is back home at Adelaide Cottage on the Windsor estate (she’s not seen in public). The King leaves hospital with Queen Camilla.
March 10: Kensington Palace releases an image of Kate and her kids, taken by Prince William, for Mother’s Day in the U.K. It had been manipulated, and less than 12 hours later, four major photo agencies issue kill notices on the image for breaking their rules. Kate apologizes, saying she experimented in the editing.
Conspiracy theories and memes go into overdrive, including raising the old, refuted allegations that William had an affair with the Marchioness of Cholmondeley (because Kate didn’t wear her wedding ring in the Mother’s Day image). Everyone gets involved, from late night comedians to Eliot Higgins of Bellingcat, the top open-source investigative unit in the world. (Full timeline of the Kate conspiracy furor is here as well as tracing the #wheresKate hashtag to the Sussex squad.)
March 22: In a 2:20 minute video, the Princess of Wales reveals that cancer had been found in post-operative tests and she had been undergoing preventative chemotherapy since late February. She asks for privacy for her and her family. The video, produced by the BBC, was shot on Wednesday but released at 6 p.m. local time on Friday — timed to be after her children were out of school for the next three weeks on their Easter break.
June 15: Trooping the Colour: The Colours of the 2nd Battalion Irish Guards is be Trooped by No. 9 Company Irish Guards (the Princess of Wales is the regiment’s colonel). Kate appears at the event but does not take the salute.
July 14: Kate, Princess of Wales, attends the men’s final at Wimbledon. It’s her second official engagement of the year.
Aug. 21: Kate and William appear in a video congratulating the British Olympic Team who competed in Paris.
Sept. 9: The Princess of Wales issues a statement that she has finished her preventative chemotherapy treatments.
WHY AN UPDATE NOW?
The video was released after the summer holidays as William increases his workload beyond the light schedule he had while looking after his family for much of the year. That change of pace mean that questions would naturally arise about Kate, her health, and the timing of her possible return to work. So an update was not only needed but expected.
During the past nine months, William and Kate’s communications staff at Kensington Palace promised to keep everyone informed when there is information to share. They may have not provided as much as many wanted to feed our dopamine drip of online obsessions.
Yet, with this heartfelt video, the Prince and Princess of Wales reveal far more than every previous piece of communication combined since their marriage in 2011 (at least image-wise). The video emphasizes their love for each other and strength of their relationship; it crushes the online rumours of marital troubles that swirled in the spring. They reinforce their long-term message that their focus as parents is to make sure their children grow up happy, healthy, and confident. The video itself makes it plain that William’s family approves of their plan and wants them to enjoy that breathing room, especially when their children are so young.
If there is one theme in the video and accompanying photos, it is a family that has gone through some truly awful experiences in 2024 and have come out the other side with laughter, strength, and a confidence of purpose.
No one can predict the future but, after months of worry, the message is that Kate is all right.
My latest Royal Roundup segment on The Morning Show on Global Television (Sept 9, 2024, hours before Kate’s announcement was released to the public.)
Great post. The video was so strikingly personal. Also cheesy in parts (like the grainy home video shots and walking through tall grasses).
The approaching end to Kate's fight with serious illness seems to have been the spur for this. It's like she and William wanted the world to have a window into their private world at least once in order to fix these joyous, idyllic images in the public's mind - for the reasons you mentioned, but also maybe to have a public record of their present happiness now that she's come face-to-face with her own human frailty and knows what may be yet to come (the cancer may perhaps return).
Something about the shots of Kate and William with the kids in particular made me think there was a desire to replicate the famous images of Diana with her sons (similar photos of Charles with his sons exist but are not as famous), creating a new generation of images of royal parents and kids doing normal family things, showing their deep bonds and further humanising all of them, but situating them in the homey environs of Norfolk vs. the Disneyland that Diana might have chosen.