London:

After weeks of wild speculation, the British public digested the shocking news on Saturday that Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales, has cancer, with many praising her courage.

Others criticized the conspiracy that has spread during her absence.

Kate Middleton revealed the news in a highly personal video posted on Friday, just weeks after King Charles III said he too was battling cancer.

The candid revelation plunged the British royal family into crisis, with two of its most senior members battling serious illnesses at the same time.

Buckingham Palace announced in February that Charles would be canceling all public events after 17 months on the throne, as he paid tribute to his “beloved daughter-in-law.”

The ailing monarch, 75, spoke of his pride in “her courage to speak out”.

British newspapers praised the courage of the 42-year-old wife of Prince William, the heir to the throne, following other glowing remarks from Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and the White House.

“Kate, you are not alone,” read a headline in The Sun. The tabloid said it was “very comforting” to hear Kate say she was getting stronger.

“Perhaps the world will now understand why her January surgery was so secretive,” the statement added.

The Daily Mail tabloid decried “social media trolls who have been peddling disgusting conspiracy theories to explain her absence from public life”.

“Privacy” needs

Outside Kensington Palace in London, 24-year-old government worker Nathaniel Taylor said: “I think what has happened to them over the past few months and what the media has done and how they have reacted has been really Damn it.”

“I think some speculation is inevitable, but there are so many things people are trying to make up. Hopefully people look in the mirror.”

At Tower Bridge, 19-year-old student Sophia, who asked not to be named, said she had seen “bizarre accusations” about absences and the real reason was “sadness”.

“Obviously this is a (more) serious problem,” she said.

Kate famously admitted in a statement that the diagnosis was a “huge shock” and asked for “time, space and privacy” while she completes chemotherapy.

In a video recorded on Wednesday in Windsor, west London, where the future queen and king live with their three young children, she insisted she was “fine”.

She said they spent some time explaining the situation to Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, 5, “and reassuring them that I was going to be OK.”

Kate added: “William and I have been doing everything we can to deal with and manage this matter privately for the sake of our young family.”

Critics praised the candor of the video, which shows the princess speaking directly to the camera while sitting on a garden bench.

“Many people will be moved by her performance in the two-minute-plus broadcast,” royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams told AFP.

“But there is no doubt that this is a very, very difficult time for the monarchy,” he added.

royal health issues

Buckingham Palace announced on February 5 that test results showed that Charles had “some form of cancer,” but gave no further details.

He has canceled all public events except meetings with the prime minister and ambassador, and is working on official documents while undergoing medical treatment.

Since then, he has been photographed multiple times and seen attending church.

Kate was last seen at a public event on December 25.

Kensington Palace announced on January 17 that she would be hospitalized for two weeks and require several months of recovery following abdominal surgery.

A statement at the time said she was not expected to be ready to return to public office until after Easter, March 31.

“Do your best”

But Kate revealed that tests after the surgery “revealed the presence of cancer” and that she is now undergoing “preventative chemotherapy”.

Kensington Palace said she would return to public duties “when her medical team gives her the okay to do so”.

Andrew Beggs, senior clinical researcher and consultant colorectal surgeon at the University of Birmingham, said: “Preventive chemotherapy after surgery is done to reduce the risk of the cancer coming back in the future.”

It’s “kind of like mopping the floor with bleach when you spill something on it,” he added, noting that chemotherapy “will kill any cells that spill out.”

Meanwhile, the royal family is facing a staffing crisis, with two members facing serious health duties and others withdrawing from frontline duties.

William’s brother Harry and his wife Meghan, who stepped back from the royal front in 2020 and now live in the United States, have been largely estranged from their family following their acrimonious split.

The king’s remaining brother, Andrew, who resigned from royal duties in 2019 after defending his friendship with the late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in a disastrous TV interview, was also dismissed. .

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)