William's absence from St George’s Chapel in Windsor on February 27 now makes sense. Photo / AP
When the Prince of Wales unexpectedly pulled out of attending a memorial service for his godfather King Constantine of Greece last month, there was widespread speculation it was connected to the death of Thomas Kingston, the husband of Lady Gabriella Windsor.
It has now emerged that the unspecified “personal reason” given for his absence from St George’s Chapel in Windsor on February 27 was that his wife, the Princess of Wales, had recently received a cancer diagnosis.
Having undergone major abdominal surgery at the London Clinic in January, which was deemed a success, her post-operative tests revealed cancer had been present, contrary to all pre-operative tests – and a statement from Kensington Palace – that had suggested her condition was not cancer.
As the Princess herself said in a video message updating the nation on her condition, it came as “a huge shock” and she is now in the early stages of preventative chemotherapy treatment.
The news of the Princess’s cancer – which follows the King’s cancer diagnosis in January – comes at a difficult time for the royal family but also explains much of the mystery that has prompted wild speculation about the Princess’s health in recent weeks, including, perhaps, the now infamous doctored Mothering Sunday picture of her.
The fury in royal circles over the controversy the picture generated is more understandable in the light of what we now know. The Prince of Wales was trying to protect his wife at a time when she was at her most vulnerable, and together they were trying to find a way of telling their children about their mother’s medical diagnosis.
The Princess said in her video statement: “It has taken us time to explain everything to George, Charlotte and Louis in a way that is appropriate for them, and to reassure them that I am going to be OK.”
Whether or not the photograph was altered by the Princess to hide any telltale signs of her treatment we may never find out, but what was driving the anger at the international response to the touched-up image of the Princess and her three children now becomes clear.
While internet trolls were speculating the Princess had faked the picture because she was not well enough to pose for one, or even that she was dead, the couple and their staff were having to bite their tongues, primarily for the sake of Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
The fact the Princess has only released details of her cancer diagnosis on the day her children have broken up from school for Easter is no coincidence.
Royal aides said the couple wanted to be able to tell their children at a time that was right for them and to “understand and process” the news before it became public. Only after the children had finished school for Easter did they feel that it was “the right time to share this update”.
Aides have made it clear the decision to go public about the cancer diagnosis, and the timing of it, had nothing to do with the ongoing speculation about Catherine’s health.
We still do not know what the Princess’s surgery involved. On January 17, Kensington Palace announced she had undergone “planned” abdominal surgery the previous day and that it was expected she would remain in hospital for 10-14 days before returning home to continue her recovery. The statement released at the time said: “Based on the current medical advice, she is unlikely to return to public duties until after Easter.”
Prince William visited his wife in hospital and postponed his public engagements to be by her side.
The Princess was discharged from the London Clinic on January 29, the same day the King was discharged after treatment for a benign enlarged prostate. He too later discovered he had cancer, in his case unconnected to the prostate issue for which he had been treated.
The Prince of Wales returned to public duties on February 7, attending a dinner in aid of London Air Ambulance, where he thanked the public for their messages of support for his wife.
At that stage, neither he nor the Princess had any idea cancer had been present at the time of her surgery. They would only find that out at the end of February, royal aides have said. It was shortly after the cancer was discovered in post-operative tests that the Princess began her course of chemotherapy.
When Prince William missed King Constantine’s memorial service, just hours before the announcement of the death of Mr Kingston, Kensington Palace said the Princess “continues to be doing well”. Two days later, on February 29, the Palace felt the need to make a further statement in response to the online speculation about her health, saying it would only provide “significant updates” and not a running commentary.
On March 4, she was spotted in the passenger seat of a car driven by Carole Middleton, her mother, near the Princess’s home in Windsor. It now seems likely the Princess was making visits to her cancer specialist during this period. She was also seen in the back of a car with her husband on the day of the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey, which he attended but she did not, on March 11.
On March 5, there was what seemed at the time to be a curious incident involving plans for Trooping the Colour in June.
The Army released details on its website of ticketing arrangements, accompanied by a photograph of the Princess who, it said, would be reviewing troops from the Irish Guards on June 8, a week before Trooping itself.
After objections from Kensington Palace, which had not confirmed her appearance at the event, all references to the Princess were removed from the website. The reason for the Palace’s nervousness over any promises about her public engagements even as far away as June is now clear.
Then came the release on March 10 of the Mothering Sunday photograph, which was withdrawn by picture agencies because of signs it had been digitally manipulated. As it made headlines around the world, the Princess issued a personal apology for any “confusion” the picture had caused, saying she would sometimes “experiment with editing” like many amateur photographers. The photograph itself had been taken by Prince William.
The Princess’s statement did nothing to quell the speculation about her health and on March 20, the London Clinic announced it had informed the Information Commissioner of an unauthorised attempt to access Catherine’s medical records. No date was given for when the alleged security breach happened, but it now seems likely some staff at the clinic would have been aware that the Princess’s treatment and recovery had not been as straightforward as first thought.
By last weekend, the Princess felt well enough to accompany her husband on a trip to their local farm shop in Windsor, where they were filmed by a member of the public, who passed the footage on to newspaper The Sun.
The Princess was smiling and appeared relaxed, though she appeared to have lost weight. There were cruel jibes online suggesting she should be back at work if she was well enough to be out shopping.
The video emerged after Kensington Palace had declined to comment on whether the Princess would join the royal family at the traditional Easter Sunday church service in Windsor, saying a decision had not yet been made.
That guidance has now changed. The Palace now says there are no plans for the Waleses to attend the Easter Matins service in Windsor.
On Thursday, rumours swept media circles that the BBC had been told to prepare for a big announcement of some sort. It now turns out that was the day a crew from BBC Studios, sworn to total secrecy, was summoned to Windsor to film the Princess making her video message.
Her plea for “time, space and privacy” to recover was the first time she had spoken to the public, albeit indirectly, since attending church at Sandringham on Christmas Day last year.
The Prince will return to work after the couple’s children have returned to school after the Easter holidays and he will balance supporting his wife and his children and his public duties in the same way he has been since the start of the year.
New York Times: These charismatic cooks are a counter to harder-edge chefs.