From toughest speech of her life to beacon of hope… how Kate got her smile back a year on from brave cancer video
WITH her glowing cheeks, radiant smile and sparkling eyes, the Princess of Wales drinking Guinness on St Patrick’s Day was a sight to behold.
She was taking part in celebrations with the Irish Guards and giggled as the soldiers raised a glass to her.
Kate, 43, looked happy, relaxed and as though she was truly enjoying the day.
It comes in stark contrast to the video watched by millions all over the world that was aired a year ago this weekend.
It showed our future queen sitting on a bench, in the spring sunshine, looking pale and fragile.
In one of the toughest speeches of her life, she revealed she had cancer — and in doing so she changed the way the royals communicate with the people.
She bravely said: “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.
“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.”
Outpourings of love soon came flooding in amid shock that a beautiful mum, with the world at her feet, was enduring the same devastating health diagnosis that affects thousands of regular households every year.
But since her diagnosis, Kate has shown her strength, determination and desire to help others. She has been a true inspiration.
Her health battle began in late 2023, when she was told she would need major abdominal surgery.
She was determined to wait until the festive season was over, and her adored children George, Charlotte and Louis were back at school, before she entered the London Clinic in January 2024.
The realisation that you have cancer is — as Fergie, Duchess of York, so perfectly said after navigating two cancer diagnoses herself within one year — “like a bomb going off in your life”.
Beautiful and brave
King Charles was also at the clinic, being treated for a benign enlarged prostate.
He was later diagnosed with cancer.
And just like that, Kate and William’s world was turned upside down.
In February 2024, she began cancer treatment at the Royal Marsden Hospital, as royal protection officers went to great lengths to avoid her being seen.
Kate tried to prepare herself, hoping her immune system would remain strong — while all the time praying she would make a full recovery, for her and her family.
We shall never know exactly how much the Princess of Wales and her family suffered, but William has confided that it was the worst year of his life.
Kate found solace in nature.
She has always been a champion of the outdoors and especially enjoyed tending the garden at Adelaide Cottage, her home in the grounds of Windsor Castle, during her break from public life.
It was in the garden that she filmed her cancer announcement a year ago, and it was under a tree there that she was photographed looking pensive as she issued a health update in June.
“I am learning how to be patient, especially with uncertainty,” Kate revealed.
“Taking each day as it comes, listening to my body and allowing myself to take this much-needed time to heal.”
Kate and the King did not tell the world what type of cancer they were suffering from — partly out of privacy but also because they felt that by doing so they could support and embrace all cancer sufferers.
Since their announcements, there has been a surge in people going for check-ups for all different kinds of cancer.
All of Kate’s announcements were carefully planned.
Going public
She was determined that if she was going public, it would be done her way.
It was Kate who took the spectacular photographs of William and the children for Father’s Day on Holkham Beach in Norfolk.
And she and William looked closer than ever when she made her much-anticipated first public appearance of the year at the annual Trooping the Colour parade.
She smiled and waved from the Buckingham Palace balcony.
But it was days later, away from duty, when she went to the Wimbledon Men’s Final with daughter Charlotte, as a promise to her, and mother and child laughed together in the sunshine.
It was a beautiful and brave public moment after so many months out of the spotlight.
So by September, when Kate recorded an announcement that she had finished her chemotherapy, it seemed natural she should say that her cancer journey came with “a new perspective on everything”.
It was clear Kate had reflected on her own mortality, and in doing so she hinted at a newfound appreciation for life.
News of her remission was shared in a January speech, penned herself, where she thanked the doctors and nurses who she said had looked her “so well” and “quietly walked alongside William and me over the past difficult year”.
Unity and hope
She was made patron of The Royal Marsden Hospital, where she later paid a surprise visit to meet patients going through a similar journey to the one she had faced.
In those moments, she confided how keeping her treatment private for a time had meant she missed the camaraderie of being on a ward, of swapping stories of treatment and sharing moments of reassurance from others suffering.
We have watched as Kate turned her illness into a positive, proving to be a beacon of hope.
Becoming a patron is one of the upsides of her devastating diagnosis, as is Kate’s mission to be an ambassador for all cancer sufferers.
The Princess can talk with experience and knowledge about the devastating effect of cancer, and bring unity and hope to many.
Now she is formally tied to the Royal Marsden, she is looking forward to having a successful working relationship with them — and there is no limit to the good she can continue to do.
Kate’s journey has proved a shining example of how to become fit and strong, however hard life might get — and how to recover.
In her message thanking the staff who cared for her, she said: “It is a relief to now be in remission and I remain focused on recovery.”
And she has focused on her family.
A ski trip to Courchevel and a trip to Mustique to celebrate her mum Carole’s 70th birthday within a few weeks has shown that.
William has learned things about his wife.
He said how “proud” he is of Kate, and praised her “remarkable strength”.
Kate has learned things too.
When she first became ill, she fantasised about the things and adventures she wanted from life, only to realise she already had everything she ever wanted.
And in that moment the only thing that truly mattered to her was to release her children, husband and loving parents from the dread of worrying about her.
Now she sees more clearly than ever that family is everything and so much more important than all the money and privileges that go with being in the Royal Family.
Kate is also putting her health front and centre, having always been very sporty.
She enjoys strength-conditioning exercises and a diet packed with healthy antioxidants, and she relishes being outside, especially with her husband and children.
The year of Kate’s cancer has certainly not been in vain.
She has helped and encouraged thousands of fellow sufferers and. like her late mother-in-law, Princess Diana, she is not trying to change the world.
She just wants to make a difference in small but significant ways.
- Ingrid Seward is Editor-in-Chief of Majesty magazine and author of My Mother And I: The Inside Story Of The King And Our Late Queen.