LONDON — Kate, the Princess of Wales, announced Monday that she has completed her chemotherapy treatment and will undertake a light schedule of engagements until the end of the year.
“Doing what I can to stay cancer-free is now my focus,” she said in a video message, some six months after revealing she had an unspecified form of cancer following intense public speculation about her health.
“The last nine months have been incredibly tough for us as a family,” Kate said, adding that the “cancer journey is complex, scary and unpredictable for everyone, especially those closest to you.”
“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,” Kate said.
Slow music plays as she delivers her message via a voiceover on the video, which was filmed in several locations including a forest, a beach and a field in Norfolk, a county in the east of England. She wears a long white summer dress with patterns throughout.
At times she is featured alone and at other times she is joined by her husband and heir to the British throne, Prince William, and their three children — George, 11; Charlotte, 9; and Louis, 6.
Thanking people for the support she and her family received, she said that “although I have finished chemotherapy, my path to healing and full recovery is long and I must continue to take each day as it comes.”
“I am however looking forward to being back at work and undertaking a few more public engagements in the coming months when I can,” she added.
Calling the video “astonishing,” NBC News royal commentator Daisy McAndrew said it would “come as a huge relief to many royal fans and people who wish Katherine well throughout the world.”
“It’s incredibly intimate. We really haven’t seen something like this of the family all playing games, holding hands,” she added. “The intimacy between Kate and William is something that we haven’t seen something like this before, real public displays of affection, lots of hand-holding, lots of kissing.”
Kate has made several public appearances since she revealed she had cancer in a video in March where she said she was undergoing “a course of preventative chemotherapy” on the advice of her medical team.
The princess attended the men’s final at Wimbledon with her daughter in July. The pair were joined in the Royal Box by Kate's sister, Pippa Middleton Matthews, 41.
In June, she attended the Trooping the Colour, a ceremonial parade celebrating the official birthday of the British monarch. Ahead of the parade, she said in a statement that she was “not out of the woods yet” and that she had “good days and bad days.” She said she was “making good progress,” but that her treatment would continue for a few more months.
Kate revealed she had cancer just over a month after Buckingham Palace announced that her father-in-law, King Charles III, had also been diagnosed with the disease when he was hospitalized with an enlarged prostate. The palace has said that he does not have prostate cancer.
The March video was released after months of fervent speculation about Kate's health after Kensington Palace — the Prince and Princess of Wales’ official residence and office — said she would be taking a step back from public duties as she recovered from planned abdominal surgery.
Both Charles and Kate have declined to specify either what type of cancer they have or details about their prognosis.
Like Kate, however, the 75-year-old monarch has attended several engagements since he resumed public duties earlier this year, including D-Day memorial services in France.
He is also set to visit Australia and Samoa next month alongside Queen Camilla, with an itinerary that will span 12 time zones.
While Charlotte attended Wimbledon, the princess and her brothers have largely been out of the public eye since their mother's surgery.
Charles' and Kate's illnesses have highlighted the challenges faced by a slimmed-down royal family as the king pledges to cut costs.
With fewer working royals available to carry out the ribbon cuttings, state events and awards ceremonies that make up the life of a modern royal, the remaining family members have been forced to take on more events.
So Camilla; Princess Anne, the king’s sister; and his youngest brother, Prince Edward, have had to shoulder the load.
