Catherine, Princess of Wales, is back! Perhaps the Royal Family’s most popular member, her official return to work mid-September marked the end of a year of illness, shrouded in rumour and speculation. Her handling of the situation is a complete departure from traditional royal communications. Instead of official statements through the usual Kensington Palace channels, she has been publishing personal videos, speaking to the public on a human and very un-royal level.
Keeping the Faith
Catherine was admitted to hospital for abdominal surgery in January last year, causing the rumour mill to churn. In March, in a video statement, she announced she was undergoing preventative chemotherapy. She explained her delay in speaking out: “William and I have been doing everything we can to process and manage this privately for the sake of our young family. … It has taken us time to explain everything to George, Charlotte and Louis in a way that’s appropriate for them and to reassure them that I’m going to be okay.” She made no mention of King Charles, who was also being treated for cancer. At the end of her statement, she asked that fellow sufferers “do not lose faith or hope.”
Mother’s Day Misstep
Catherine largely withdrew from public during her treatment. For a while, it seemed that people respected her call to #BeKind, but soon enough, conspiracy theories were rife on social media. A family photo, released by Kensington Palace on 10 May for Mother’s Day, was revealed to have been manipulated. The first official image since her operation, it was quickly withdrawn by the major photo agencies, followed by ‘kill notices’ to news outlets to stop using it. Catherine posted on X that it was simply a case of her experimenting with photo editing and apologised for the confusion. In the following months, she made two public appearances, at the King’s birthday parade (Trooping the Colour) and at the Wimbledon tennis championship, to hand the trophy to Carlos Alcaraz.
A Message from Catherine
All the while, her condition and treatment were kept secret and the nature of her cancer remains unknown. What she has been willing to reveal, she shared on her own terms. In a format never before seen from the Royal Family, an intimate, advertising-quality video was published on social media announcing the end of her chemotherapy. In it, we see Catherine and her family strolling through wheat fields, playing, hugging and roasting marshmallows. At one point, a butterfly flies off her hand. Despite the high production value, she comes across as authentic, never looking at the camera, her voice-over providing a carefully-scripted narrative in which she says she is “taking each day as it comes.”
“Life’s Work”
A week after the video’s release, Catherine officially went back to work. A quiet meeting with the Centre for Early Childhood, at its Windsor Castle headquarters, was recorded in the royal events register. She launched the charity in 2021, focusing on the impact of the first five years on a person’s life, to improve societal health and happiness. She has referred to the centre’s projects as her “life’s work.” She also made a surprise visit to Southport in October, to meet with those affected by the horrific killings of three young girls in the summer. Her diary is being carefully managed, but her handling of her situation has given her a measure of privacy, respect and all-round compassion.