Pinned
Mark Landler
Reporting from London
Here’s the latest on the Princess of Wales’s cancer news.
Catherine, Princess of Wales, has been diagnosed with cancer and has begun chemotherapy, she announced in a video message on Friday, in which she described the past two months as “incredibly tough for our entire family.”
Her diagnosis follows that of King Charles III, who announced his own cancer diagnosis and treatment in early February. It comes after a period of intense uncertainty about the health of Catherine, who underwent abdominal surgery in January and largely disappeared from public view as she tried to recuperate.
Like the king, Catherine, 42, did not specify what kind of cancer she had but asked the public and news media to respect her desire for privacy.
“We hope that you will understand that, as a family, we now need some time, space and privacy while I complete my treatment,” said Catherine, who is the wife of Prince William and a future queen.
“This of course came as a huge shock,” Catherine said, “and William and I have been doing everything we can to process and manage this privately for the sake of our young family. As you can imagine, this has taken time.”
Catherine’s announcement is a grim coda to a period of increasingly wild rumors about her health and well-being. But it plunges the British royal family into a period of even deeper uncertainty, with both the 75-year-old monarch and his daughter-in-law, the wife of his eldest son and heir and the mother of Prince George, the second in line to throne, facing grave health problems.
In her statement, Catherine said that at the time her surgery was performed, doctors believed that her condition was noncancerous. The surgery was successful, she said, but in further tests, the doctor found evidence of cancer. They recommended a course of chemotherapy, which she said she had recently begun.
“It has taken me time to recover from major surgery in order to start my treatment,” Catherine said in the video. “But, most importantly, it has taken us time to explain everything to George, Charlotte and Louis in a way that is appropriate for them, and to reassure them that I am going to be OK.”
Catherine’s announcement eerily echoed that of Charles’s. Buckingham Palace said that the king’s cancer was detected after a procedure for an enlarged prostate. While the palace has said he does not have prostate cancer, it has not specified what kind of cancer it is, nor his prognosis.
Until Catherine’s video on Friday, Kensington Palace, where William and Catherine have their offices, had released even fewer details about her condition, an information vacuum that led to a raft of rumors and conspiracy theories on social media.
In the video, which Kensington Palace said was recorded by BBC Studios in Windsor on Wednesday, Catherine is sitting on a bench outside, with daffodils and trees in blossom behind her.
Her hands clasped on her lap, she begins by thanking the public for their messages of support and understanding while she was recovering from surgery, before announcing her diagnosis.
“In January, I underwent major abdominal surgery in London, and, at the time, it was thought that my condition was noncancerous. The surgery was successful,” she said. “However, tests after the operation found cancer had been present. 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.”
Catherine’s statement emphasized the importance of her three children and their well-being as a key factor in the timing of the announcement. “As I have said to them,” she said, “I am well and getting stronger every day by focusing on the things that will help me heal; in my mind, body and spirits. Having William by my side is a great source of comfort and reassurance, too.”
The children’s school has now closed for the Easter holidays. A Kensington Palace official said Catherine and William had wanted to share the information when they felt it was right for them as a family.
Catherine ended her video statement with a message for other people affected by a cancer diagnosis. “At this time, I am also thinking of all those whose lives have been affected by cancer,” she said. “For everyone facing this disease, in whatever form, please do not lose faith or hope. You are not alone.”
March 22, 2024, 6:37 p.m. ET
Gina Kolata
Gina Kolata previously reported on King Charles III’s cancer diagnosis.
Doctors recognize familiar pattern in the princess’s statement.
Although it is not known what type of cancer Princess Catherine has, oncologists say that what she described in her public statement that was released on Friday — discovering a cancer during another procedure, in this case a “major abdominal surgery” — is all too common.
“Unfortunately, so much of the cancer we diagnose is unexpected,” said Dr. Elena Ratner, a gynecologic oncologist at Yale Cancer Center who has diagnosed many patients with ovarian cancer, uterine cancer and cancers of the lining of the uterus.
Without speculating on Catherine’s procedure, Dr. Ratner described situations in which women will go in for surgery for endometriosis, a condition in which tissue similar to the lining of the uterus is found elsewhere in the abdomen. Often, Dr. Ratner says, the assumption is that the endometriosis has appeared on an ovary and caused a benign ovarian cyst. But one to two weeks later, when the supposedly benign tissue has been studied, pathologists report that they found cancer.
In the statement, Princess Catherine said she is getting “a course of preventive chemotherapy.”
That, too, is common. In medical settings, it is usually called adjuvant chemotherapy.
Dr. Eric Winer, director of the Yale Cancer Center, said that with adjuvant chemotherapy, “the hope is that this will prevent further problems” and avoid a recurrence of the cancer.
It also means that “you removed everything” that was visible with surgery, said Dr. Michael Birrer, director of the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. “You can’t see the cancer,” he added, because microscopic cancer cells may be left behind. The chemotherapy is a way to attack microscopic disease, he explained.
Other parts of Catherine’s statement also hit home for Dr. Ratner, particularly her concern for her family.
“William and I have been doing everything we can to process and manage this privately for the sake of our young family,” Catherine said, and “It has taken us time to explain everything to George, Charlotte, and Louis in a way that is appropriate for them, and to reassure them that I am going to be OK.”
Those are sentiments that Dr. Ratner hears on a regular basis and reveal, she says, “how hard it is for women to be diagnosed with cancer.”
“I see this day in and day out,” she said. “Women always say, ‘Will I be there for my kids? What will happen with my kids?’
“They don’t say, ‘What will happen to me?’”
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March 22, 2024, 5:49 p.m. ET
Mark Landler
Another heavy blow for the British royal family.
For the royal family, the news of a cancer diagnosis for Catherine, Princess of Wales, was another heavy blow, sidelining one of its most visible figures at a time when its ranks were already depleted.
In addition to King Charles III, who has canceled public appearances to undergo his own cancer treatment, the family has been adjusting to the loss of Queen Elizabeth II, who died in 2022; the departure of Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan; and the exile of Prince Andrew, disgraced by his association with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Harry and Meghan issued a statement saying they wished “health and healing for Kate and the family, and hope they are able to do so privately and in peace.”
Since Harry and Meghan, who are known as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, withdrew from royal duties in 2020 and left Britain for Southern California, Harry has been estranged from his father, Charles, and his brother, Prince William. He visited his father briefly after Buckingham Palace announced the king’s cancer diagnosis in February.
The palace said on Friday that Charles was “so proud of Catherine for her courage in speaking as she did.” Noting that the king had visited her when they were both being treated in a London hospital, the palace said Charles “has remained in the closest contact with his beloved daughter-in-law throughout the past weeks.”
March 22, 2024, 5:43 p.m. ET
Mark Landler
Buckingham Palace said only last month that King Charles has cancer.
King Charles III was diagnosed with cancer in early February and suspended his public engagements to undergo treatment, casting a shadow over a busy reign that began around 18 months ago after the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II.
The announcement, made by Buckingham Palace, came after the 75-year-old sovereign was discharged from a London hospital, following a procedure to treat an enlarged prostate.
The palace did not disclose what form of cancer Charles has, but a palace official said it was not prostate cancer. Doctors detected the cancer during that procedure, and the king began treatment on Monday.
News of Charles’ diagnosis ever since has reverberated through Britain, which, after seven decades of Elizabeth’s reign, has begun to get comfortable with her son. Charles waited longer to ascend the throne than anyone in the history of the British monarchy, and he was a familiar figure, with a personal life relentlessly dissected by the British media by the time he became the sovereign.
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March 22, 2024, 4:52 p.m. ET
Nate Schweber
The mood is somber at a British outpost in New York.
The mood was somber Friday afternoon in the section of Manhattan’s West Village that some people call Little Britain after Catherine, Princess of Wales, announced that she was being treated for cancer.
At Myers of Keswick, a shop on Hudson Street that sells British goods like Hobnobs biscuits, Wilkin & Sons marmalade and steak and ale pie, Jennifer Myers-Pulidore, the owner, said she had watched the announcement live while fielding alarmed texts from her father, Peter Myers. He opened the store 39 years ago and is now retired and living back in Keswick, England.
“I feel for her,” said Ms. Myers-Pulidore, 45, who was born in New York and grew up spending summers in Keswick. With three children of her own, she said she could relate to the princess’s desire to address the matter with her family before discussing it publicly.
“I understand wanting to protect the children,” Ms. Myers-Pulidore said. “I can’t imagine living in the limelight as they do.”
She said she had not kept up with the recent wave of speculation online about why Catherine had not been seen much in public since undergoing abdominal surgery earlier this year. Ms. Myers-Pulidore had nothing good to say about those who had spread wild rumors.
“It’s awful. It’s sort of pathetic that she couldn’t even have time in private,” she said. “It almost makes me think she had no other option but to come clean.”
For Ms. Myers-Pulidore, the news stirred painful memories of Princess Diana, a previous Princess of Wales to whom the store owner considers Catherine a spiritual heir.
“She, in England, is loved,” Ms. Myers-Pulidore said of Catherine. “People think of her as the people’s princess.”
After Diana’s death; the death of Queen Elizabeth II; King Charles’s cancer diagnosis; and estrangement between William, Prince of Wales, and his brother, Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, Ms. Myers-Pulidore said she worried about the British royal family’s future.
“I hope they will make it,” she said.
Outside the shop, Richard Barnett winced while discussing the news.
“It’s all very sad,” said Mr. Barnett, a London native who has lived in New York for 35 years. He added that he hoped Catherine’s treatment would be successful and that her recovery would be swift and comfortable.
“Wish her the best,” he said. “And peace and quiet.”
Asked whether he had followed the recent gossip and speculation about Catherine that Ms. Myers-Pulidore had condemned, Mr. Barnett nodded.
“It’s good she stopped the rumors,” he said.
Outside Tea & Sympathy, a British restaurant a few blocks away on Greenwich Avenue, Dave Heenan shook his head when asked about the news.
“It’s awful. I’m devastated — the whole royal family, they’re cursed!” said Mr. Heenan, 81, who moved to New York from Newcastle, England, in 1963. He said that, like other British people, he had come to love Catherine and was excited about her future.
“She’s the one member of the royal family who could really carry that crown,” he said.
One positive thing he could say was that he had been able to share his feelings with fellow English men and women: “It brings English people together.”
Iain Anderson, Tea & Sympathy’s manager, said he had become concerned about Catherine recently as she stayed out of the public eye and rumors about her flew. He said that to him, the announcement on Friday felt forced.
“Maybe they had to say something because of the public pressure,” Mr. Anderson, who is originally from Gloucestershire, England, said. “If they had to open up about this and they didn’t want to, that’s unfortunate.”
Like Ms. Myers-Pulidore, he said he had a grim feeling of déjà vu.
“We’ve had all this before with Lady Diana,” he said
.
Michael West, a Briton living in Manhattan, said he was reminded of Queen Elizabeth II’s death two years ago as well as King Charles’s cancer diagnosis.
“It just seems as though trouble comes in threes,” he said as he passed the British Consulate on Second Avenue. “And it just seems as though, for that family at the moment, that perhaps trouble comes in tens.”
Mr. West is originally from a village called Higham, famous as the place where Charles Dickens died. He said that although Catherine had not been born into royalty, she had fit well into her role as a Windsor.
“Among my family and friends, people were happy with them,” he said of the family, adding, “They do their job with grace.”
Sean Piccoli contributed reporting.
March 22, 2024, 4:02 p.m. ET
Megan Specia
Reporting from London
The reaction of Londoners is full of concern.
As news filtered out about the princess of Wales’s cancer diagnosis in London on Friday, just as the sun was setting on a mild spring evening, many expressed their shock and concern for a well-liked member of the British royal family, who is destined to one day be queen.
Kensington Palace had urged the public to respect the privacy of Catherine as she recovered from a major abdominal surgery in January, but as the days drew into weeks, the rumor mill swirled — with conspiracy theories growing deeper and wilder — about what had been keeping such a prominent member of the royal family out of view.
On Friday evening, many lamented the scrutiny she had faced and what the family had been forced to endure at such a terrible time.
“She is still just a human,” said Aaron Viera, 33, and a lifelong Lononder. “It’s just really sad that she has to go through this.”
Alongside co-workers sharing a drink outside the Goat Tavern, just steps from Kensington Palace where Catherine and her family had lived, Mr. Viera denounced the social media speculation.
Much of that frenzy has been driven by an American “obsession” with the royals, interjected another friend, Maryann, 35, who declined to give her last name. At the end of the day, she’s a mother of three, another woman, Jessi, pointed out, and she worried about toll chemotherapy would take on Catherine. So many in the country know the struggles of cancer personally, and they agreed that Catherine’s candor about her illness unfortunately would be easy for many to relate to.
Catherine, 42, the wife of William, Prince of Wales, is the second member of the British royal family to be diagnosed with cancer in recent weeks after Buckingham Palace announced in February that her father-in-law, King Charles III, also was being treated for cancer.
On Friday evening, the overwhelming sentiment seemed to be of concern for the well-being of the princess of Wales.
“God, she’s had cancer, has she?” one woman said to her friend, engrossed in a news article on her phone while getting off a bus in the northwest of the city. “Terrible, she’s only 40-something, isn’t she?”
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March 22, 2024, 2:25 p.m. ET
The New York Times
Read Catherine’s full statement.
A transcript of the video message given by Catherine, princess of Wales:
I wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you, personally, for all the wonderful messages of support and for your understanding whilst I have been recovering from surgery.
It has been an incredibly tough couple of months for our entire family, but I’ve had a fantastic medical team who have taken great care of me, for which I am so grateful.
In January, I underwent major abdominal surgery in London and at the time, it was thought that my condition was noncancerous. The surgery was successful. However, tests after the operation found cancer had been present. 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.
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.
As you can imagine, this has taken time. It has taken me time to recover from major surgery in order to start my treatment. But, most importantly, it has taken us time to explain everything to George, Charlotte and Louis in a way that is appropriate for them, and to reassure them that I am going to be OK.
As I have said to them; I am well and getting stronger every day by focusing on the things that will help me heal; in my mind, body and spirits.
Having William by my side is a great source of comfort and reassurance too. As is the love, support and kindness that has been shown by so many of you. It means so much to us both.
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.
At this time, I am also thinking of all those whose lives have been affected by cancer. For everyone facing this disease, in whatever form, please do not lose faith or hope. You are not alone.
March 22, 2024, 2:24 p.m. ET
Derrick Bryson Taylor
A timeline of the royal family’s tumultuous year.
- Henry Nicholls/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
- Oli Scarff/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
- Hollie Adams/Reuters
- Chris Jackson/Getty Images
- Chris Jackson/Getty Images
- Odd Andersen/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
- Carl Recine/Reuters
Since King Charles III and Catherine, the Princess of Wales, each went to hospitals for health matters in recent months, public attention has been riveted on the royal family. The extended absence of Kate from the public eye, especially, propelled a wave of rumors over her whereabouts, fueled further by an edited photo released by the palace.
Here is a quick timeline of key moments.
Jan. 17, 2024
Kate undergoes surgery.
A little more than three weeks after Kate made a public appearance on Christmas Day, Kensington Palace announced that she had been admitted to the London Clinic to have abdominal surgery. Officials gave few details about her health but said the surgery was successful, and that her condition was “not cancerous.”
Hours later, Buckingham Palace announced that King Charles III would be treated for an enlarged prostate.
Jan. 29, 2024
Kate is released from the hospital.
Almost two weeks later, Kate returned home to Windsor, just outside London. Kensington Palace officials said that she would convalesce at home for two to three months and would not resume her public duties until after Easter, at the end of March.
Feb. 5, 2024
King Charles is diagnosed with cancer.
Buckingham Palace officials announced in early February, just days after Charles had undergone treatment for an enlarged prostate, that the king had been diagnosed with cancer.
The palace did not share what form of cancer Charles has, but a palace official said it was not prostate cancer. Doctors had discovered the cancer during the earlier procedure.
March 4, 2024
Kate is spotted for the first time in months.
The public’s appetite for information about Kate’s whereabouts and recovery reached a fever pitch in the first week of March. And around that time, TMZ published a grainy paparazzi shot of Kate riding in a car driven by her mother.
Despite the photograph circulating on the internet, British newspapers and broadcasters did not republish it, citing Kate’s request for privacy during her convalescence — though they did report on the sighting.
March 10, 2024
Kate and children appear in Mother’s Day photograph.
To mark Mother’s Day in Britain, Kensington Palace released an official photograph of a smiling Kate surrounded by her three children, George, Charlotte and Louis. The palace did not give many details about the picture except that it was taken by William last week in Windsor, where the family lives in Adelaide Cottage, on the grounds of Windsor Castle.
While the picture was meant to highlight a happy family on the holiday and quell rumors, it became a subject of intense scrutiny after The Associated Press, and several other photo agencies, issued a “kill order,” asking its clients to remove it from all platforms over concerns that it had been manipulated. The New York Times, which had initially used the picture in a story, also removed it.
March 11, 2024
Kate apologizes for the altered photo.
On Monday, Kate took the blame and apologized for the Mother’s Day photo.
“Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing,” she said on social media. “I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused.”
Kate is known as a photography enthusiast, and the palace often distributes her photos of the family. Palace officials stressed that Kate made minor adjustments for what was intended to be an informal family picture that was taken by William.
March 18, 2024
Another royal photo is flagged.
Getty Images placed an editorial advisory on a second royal family photo, this time an image of Queen Elizabeth II, flanked by her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. The photo — taken by Kate at Balmoral Castle in Scotland in August 2022 and released in 2023 on what would have been the queen’s 97th birthday — had been “digitally enhanced” before it was released by the palace, the photo agency said.
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March 22, 2024, 2:23 p.m. ET
Mark Landler and Lauren Leatherby
Reporting from London
Speculation had swirled since the Princess of Wales apologized for an edited image a week ago.
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Zipper and hair are
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Portion of sleeve is
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Edges of tiles appear
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Catherine, the Princess of Wales, apologized last week for doctoring a photo of her with her three children, which was recalled by several news agencies after they determined the image had been manipulated.
The decision to recall the photo reignited a storm of speculation about Catherine, who had not been seen in public since Christmas Day and had abdominal surgery in January. In her statement, the 42-year-old princess chalked up the alteration to a photographer’s innocent desire to retouch the image.
“Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing,” Catherine wrote in a post on social media. “I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused.”
The photo, which marked Mother’s Day in Britain, depicted a smiling Catherine surrounded by her children, George, Charlotte and Louis.
Kensington Palace said that William had taken the photo last week in Windsor, where the family lives in Adelaide Cottage, on the grounds of Windsor Castle. But Catherine is known as a keen photographer, and the palace often distributes her photos of the family.
Hours after Kensington Palace released the photo, The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse issued advisories urging news organizations to remove the image.
The A.P. said that after a post-publication inspection of the photograph, its editors determined that the image “shows an inconsistency in the alignment of Princess Charlotte’s left hand.” The source of the photo, it said “had manipulated the image in a way that does not meet A.P.’s photo standards.”
Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing. I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused. I hope everyone celebrating had a very happy Mother’s Day. C
— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) March 11, 2024
The details of the photo show a range of visual inconsistencies suggesting it was doctored. In several areas of the image, details like a sleeve or a zipper don’t line up, or have artificial patterns.
A palace official said Catherine made minor adjustments in what was meant to be an informal picture of the family together for Mother’s Day. The official reiterated that William had taken the photo, though Catherine edited it.
Samora Bennett-Gager, an expert in photo retouching, identified several other questionable elements, including the edges of her daughter Charlotte’s legs, which he said were unnaturally soft, suggesting the background had been manipulated. Catherine’s hand on the waist of her son, Louis, is blurry, which he said could indicate the image was taken from a separate frame of the shoot.
The photograph appeared on newspaper front pages and websites around the world, including the website of The New York Times. The Times removed the photo from an article about it on Sunday evening.
Adam Dean contributed reporting.