'Dignified' in the Face of Trauma: Princess Kate Praised for Her 'Poised' Demeanor in Cancer Announcement Video
Kate, Princess of Wales, had to overcome her nerves to film her "emotional" cancer diagnosis video on March 20.
"She is inherently shy, and for her to do that took a lot," royal author Sally Bedell Smith told an outlet.
Smith praised the future queen for her "sincere, dignified, and posied" demeanor during the clip, which HRH uploaded to her and Prince William's social media accounts on March 22.
In the video, the princess shared: "In January, I underwent major abdominal surgery in London, and at the time, it was thought that my condition was non-cancerous. The surgery was successful. However, tests after the operation found cancer had been present."
HRH continued: "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."
Sources close to Kensington Palace revealed that the video was released on the day Princes George and Louis and Princess Charlotte began their Easter holidays. This was in a move designed to help shield the children from non-stop press coverage of their mother's condition, which they likely would have seen and heard while at school.
"When she ended with 'You are not alone,' it rang a bell with something that [the late] Queen Elizabeth [II] would have said," Bedell Smith observed. "It was very similar to what Queen Elizabeth said during COVID when she said, 'We are all in this together.'"
The scribe added how there "was not a trace of self-pity" in the future queen's message.
"She was mindful there are very few people who read about that or watched that who [don’t] know someone who has cancer. She was mindful of that," the author pointed out. "It was a way of reassuring people not only about her condition but helping them have courage."
"Kate wrote every word of it," a friend of the princess told an outlet. "It allowed her to speak directly to the public who, overwhelmingly, have always been with her and her family and who don’t buy into the noise and gossip. It came together very quickly."
Kate's words also seemed to have "greatly affected" King Charles III, who is also battling cancer.
"His Majesty is so proud of Catherine for her courage and speaking as she did. Following their time in hospital together, His Majesty has remained in the closest contact with his beloved daughter-in-law throughout the past weeks," the statement read. "Both their Majesties will continue to offer their love and support to the whole family throughout this difficult time."
Us Weekly reported on the expert and insider revelations.