The Princess of Wales has been diagnosed with cancer and revealed her illness to the world in a moving video message.
Kate Middleton (42) said that cancer was found when she underwent planned abdominal surgery in January.
Her medical team had advised her to start preventative chemotherapy.
In her video, which was filmed at Windsor Castle on Wednesday, triggered an outpouring of support from well-wishers.
In it, she said: “This of course came as a huge shock, and William and I have been doing everything we can to process and manage this privately for the sake of our young family.
“It has been an incredibly tough couple of months for our entire family, but I’ve had a fantastic medical team who have taken great care of me, for which I am so grateful.”
The news is another blow to the royals, with King Charles having already recently announced he has pancreatic cancer.
But he praised Catherine for the way she spoke with courage about her news.
The palace said Catherine had wished to provide a medical update in order to put an end to the speculation sparked by her admission to the London Clinic for her surgery.
At the time, the palace refused to confirm what Catherine was being treated for, but said the condition was non-cancerous.
