Catherine, largely out of the public eye since Christmas, said she was “looking forward to being back at work and undertaking a few more public engagements in the coming months when I can.”
LONDON — Catherine, Princess of Wales, said in a video shared Monday that she has finished chemotherapy and is seeking to “stay cancer free,” after nine months that “have been incredibly tough for us as a family.”
Kate Middleton, as she is widely known, is one of the most popular members of the British royal family and in line to be a future queen. The announcement will be a relief for the British monarchy, which has seen two of its most senior figures hospitalized and treated for cancer this year.
The princess said she was “looking forward to being back at work and undertaking a few more public engagements in the coming months when I can.” She noted, too, that “my path to healing and full recovery is long, and I must continue to take each day as it comes.”
Catherine has been largely out of the public eye since Christmas. Her retreat from public duties sparked a media frenzy, which escalated after news agencies retracted a photo of her over concerns it had been manipulated. The princess apologized for altering the photo.
In March, she disclosed that she had cancer, though she did not reveal what kind or at what stage it was. The palace has maintained that she is entitled to her right to medical privacy.
She made her first return to public duties in June for King Charles’s birthday parade. She also made an appearance in July at Wimbledon, where she presented the men’s final trophy and received a standing ovation.
She is expected to attend a Remembrance Sunday service in November, a fixture of the royal calendar that commemorates those who died in Britain’s wars. Her 2025 schedule is still to be determined.
The palace said the three-minute video was filmed in Norfolk, England, last month. It shows candid — albeit highly curated — clips of Kate with her husband, Prince William, and their three children, George, Charlotte and Louis. They walk through woods, along the beach, through a meadow with summer’s fading wildflowers in view. The light is golden.
In one scene, William and Catherine can be seen lying next to each other on a blanket in the sand dunes. In another, Catherine’s parents, Michael and Carole Middleton, play cards at a table with their grandkids. At one point, George peers into the camera and asks: “Is this filming?”
The royals seem to be offering an unusually intimate glimpse into their lives, while implicitly asking for continued privacy for their young family.
“The cancer journey is complex, scary and unpredictable for everyone, especially those closest to you,” the princess says in the voice-over. “With humility, it also brings you face to face with your own vulnerabilities in a way you have never considered before and, with that, a new perspective on everything.”
She added: “To all those who are continuing their own cancer journey — I remain with you.”
A spokesman for Buckingham Palace said King Charles III and Queen Camilla considered the “the details in today’s announcement to be wonderful news” and will continue to offer “love, thoughts and support to the princess on her continued path to full recovery.”
The king, Catherine’s father-in-law, revealed his own cancer diagnosis earlier this year. He returned to a more-limited-than-usual schedule of public engagements in April.
