Kate's Intimate and Moving Message As She Completes Chemo

I was just starting to format the pictures for today’s Monday Memory when Kate’s video went live. Instead of looking back to the past today, I know we are all focused on the present…and the future. So in lieu of the Monday Memory, this week’s free post will be all about Kate’ announcement she has completed chemotherapy.

As you know, of course, Kate released a video message this morning. It was a 3+ minute video montage of the Waleses on summer holiday in Norfolk, filmed just this past month in August. It is, by far, the most intimate portrait of the family we have ever seen.

I loved this video. It was so beautifully done—poignant and hopeful. She has obviously been through a great deal in the last nine months, and while the video had a hopeful message, it was primarily conveying the gravity of the dark days she has been through. Although I loved the intimate look we got, and all the emotional images, I also shared on Instagram that the video worried me, too. Before we get into that, let’s set the stage a little, though, because this video did not appear in isolation.

This weekend, Roya Nikkhah had a long read in the Times explaining that Kate was not going to resume a regular work schedule any time soon. It felt very much like the Palace briefed Roya and the article was meant to manage public expectations. After all, in her second public statement (the one right before Trooping), it did sound like Kate was turning a corner and on the mend. She said at that time that she had a few months of chemo to go, and she hoped to attend a few engagements over the summer, which she did.

A lot of people, including myself, hoped that meant that with the return of the royals in the autumn, we would see Kate slowly start to ease back into her charitable work. Roya’s report squashed that hope entirely. Kate has nothing penciled into her calendar. She hopes to attend Remembrance Sunday at the Cenotaph, but is not even committed for that yet. Her staff have started to plan her Christmas Carol Service, which is three months away. So, two events in 2025. I am not saying any of this in an angry tone—just analyzing here. As I say, that article was a very clear message to the public—don’t hold your breath; she is not coming back soon.

Then, this morning, William and Kate’s social accounts (and the media) released this vey personal message from Kate saying the same thing even more clearly. It was billed as a hopeful update, and indeed it is in many ways, primarily because of its focus on her love for her family. Her reflections on the way cancer has changed her life were honest and raw. Her message that she has finished chemo was certainly wonderful. I think it is so important for Kate to do these personal updates for the public who love her so much. It is brilliant PR that buys her precious peace from questions and privacy.

But as I say, I also found it a little worrisome. Kate says in the video: “Doing what I can to stay cancer free is now my focus. Although I have finished my chemotherapy, my path to healing and full recovery is long, and I must continue to take each day as it comes.” The way she said the road to recovery is long felt worrisome. She didn’t say, I need to continue to regain my strength. Against the background of cancer, which is universally an unknown, it took on added concern for me.

Kate said she is cancer free, which means she has no discernible cancer right now. That does not mean that whatever cancer she had has not spread quietly. One of the several very scary things about cancer is that it can and sometimes does spread without you knowing. Those cancer cells can be transported to another part of the body where they settle in (non medical terms here!) and pop up down the line on a future scan. In other words, sometimes it is obvious your cancer has metastasized and sometimes you won’t know until it shows up again. Kate’s oncologist would also be able to tell her, based on the particular type of cancer Kate had and the staging, what the statistics are—that is to say, what percentage of patients with her type had a recurrence. For some cancers, that number is very positive. For others, it is a very scary probability. These are all things we don’t know about Kate’s condition.

One thing I thought about last night after reading Roya’s article (so before this video came out) is that Kate might be in remission right now but, given whatever probability she has of a recurrence, determined to spend those months or years focused on her family until she is more statistically out of the woods. As I say, the first all-clear scan is not always indicative of complete success. So, let’s say her doctors have told her (and this is purely for the sake of discussion) that if her cancer comes back it is statistically most likely to recur within a year (or three months or five years or whatever number), maybe she is going to take it easy for a year (or whatever period of time it is). Maybe she wants to cherish that time with her family while she is cancer free, in case it comes back at that critical mark. After that mark, when she is statistically more likely to be truly cancer free, perhaps she would then ramp up her outside work. Perhaps it is a little of both—recovery and spending time with her family until she gets a few clear scans under her belt and can actually breathe a sigh of real relief from the fear.

That said, it could all be fine! Maybe the video layered on the pathos a little too heavily (which is fine, but it conveys a message). Maybe, as we were just discussing on Instagram earlier today and yesterday, Kate simply needs these months to detox from the chemo and recover from the attendant brain fog! Those are every real side effects of chemo, and most chemo patients say it takes at least a year to fully recover from them—maybe longer.

Kate has been under fire on social media for a few weeks now from people speculating she will “never return to work.” I think that is absurd. She is the future Queen, and if she survives this fight, she will certainly return. But maybe it will be a lot longer than any of us are imagining. This video might also be trying to convey to people that just because she has an all-clear on paper does not mean she is out of the woods. I think a lot of people with cancer struggle to make other people understand this. Technically you are well, but the fear remains, and the danger for some “cancer free” people is actually very high, which means your life is never the same. So, perhaps the stress on the road to recovery is just that—trying to make the segment of the public that thinks she should just have bounced back by now realize how hard life still is for her as she tries to be normal and positive for her children while carrying that mental load.

Sometimes I write a post where I advocate a certain conclusion. This is not one of those posts. I don’t have a settled opinion or belief on Kate’s health. I pray so hard that she is doing well. I just shared with you all my initial thoughts after watching the video. But one thing I know (and lots of others, too) is the reality of cancer—an all clear (especially that first scan) does not mean everything is clear. There could be cancer in her, lurking invisible only to reveal itself in a few months or a few years. Whatever else Kate knows about her cancer and whatever else she thinks about, it is certain she knows that hard truth and that scary reality crosses her mind in the quiet moments.

So to me, this was a bittersweet video—beautifully done, filled with hope, but tinged with the truth of cancer…you simply don’t know. This video very clearly conveyed a lack of resolution. I hope her prognosis is good, and I pray she continues to face each scan with courage and hope and is rewarded with the joyful news she has yet another clean bill of health.

A side note…

I have been surprised by how many angry and mean messages I have received on Instagram for sharing my honest thoughts about this video. It seems like people just can’t handle other people’s perspectives, and also that when people read an opinion they don’t like, they just get mad and attack. So strange. I think I have been very clear—the video is beautiful and very moving. This could be a purely positive update, and I hope and pray that it is. I love Kate and want her to be well, but what I want and hope for might not be the case. That is what cancer forces everyone to realize, and it is what Kate acknowledges in the part of the video where she discuscesses humility and recognizing your vulnerabilities. The truth is, as beautiful as this video is, it is also a video that is telling us how hard and scary the last nine months were, and we do not know what Kate’s prognosis is. Cancer free today does not mean cancer free tomorrow, and we don’t know what Kate knows about the probability of a recurrence. All I am pointing out in this post and on Instagram is that reality. I am not claiming to know anything about Kate’s particular situation, but I do know that with every cancer there is that worry, and the more deadly and advanced the cancer, the bigger the worry.