Fresh details emerge after Kate’s shock cancer revelation: ‘Reeling’

Sources close to Kate and her best friends have revealed the devastating fallout of her announcement, admitting many were left in the dark.

Kate Middleton is undergoing treatment for cancer.

The Princess of Wales’ cancer diagnosis came as a huge shock to many of her closest friends, it’s been revealed.

According to the UK’s Times, news of Kate’s cancer was kept mostly within the confines of her immediate family and the wider announcement left “everyone reeling” among her inner circle – many of whom have been close with the royals since their university days.

Kate, who is known for her dedication to health and fitness, shared her diagnosis with the world in an emotional video on Friday night, UK time.

“I wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you, personally, for all the wonderful messages of support and for your understanding while I have been recovering from surgery,” the 42-year-old began in the clip.

“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.”

Kate added that the cancer was discovered after her abdominal surgery in January, and that it had come as a “huge shock”.

Kate revealed she is undergoing treatment for cancer.

As the future queen now retreats from the public eye for an unspecified period of time to focus solely on her recovery, she’s understood to be relying on her family and closest friends for support.

“Catherine will be looking to her family and friends to keep things as normal and upbeat for them as possible during her treatment,” a source close to the royals told the Times.

“Her children are her guiding concern … she is an incredibly relatable mother figure, a total natural. She is a mother first and a public figure second.”

Aside from the Middletons – parents Michael and Carole, and siblings Pippa and James – Kate’s circle is made up of members of the “Norfolk posse”, a group comprised of fashion designer Rosie van Cutsem, and her husband, William, along with Lady Laura and James Meade, plus the Prince of Wales’ longtime friend, Thomas van Straubanzee.

William and Rosie van Cutsem at Prince George’s christening in 2013. Picture: John Stillwell - WPA Pool /Getty Images

Others close to the princess include pilates and yoga guru Lady Zoe Warren, who is married to royal racehorse manager and William’s school friend, Jake, along with Kate’s friends from her boarding school days, Sophie Snuggs and Hannah Gillingham-Carter.

The royal couple also enjoy a particularly tight bond with William’s cousin, Zara, and her husband, Mike Tindall, who is known for his playful, funny personality.

“The Tindalls are very much the glue of their generation of royals and bring the fun to a family gathering, no matter how serious the occasion. They can help take the family’s mind off the gravity of what is going on,” the insider added.

“While some family members can be very ‘royal’, Mike is just himself and is relaxed and playful with George, Charlotte and Louis. It helps that they all have children around the same age that they can fool around together privately and bring a sense of normality to what is a stressful situation for everyone involved.”

Surprise new detail behind Kate’s announcement

It comes as new details about the process that went into Friday’s shock announcement emerged, with the editor of The Sun, Victoria Newton, claiming the decision to do it had actually been made some time ago.

“It was actually, I understand, that the princess made the decision two weeks ago that she was going to do this public statement,” she told BBC1’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg.

“The key thing for her as a mother, the priority was protecting those three children. She didn’t want them going to school, being asked even more than they already were.”

Kate has been heavily supported by William behind the scenes. Picture: Chris Jackson/Getty Images

It would mean that Kate was always intending to share the details of her diagnosis with the world, even before conspiracy theories and online speculation hit its mass frenzy peak in recent weeks.

‘Wrote every word’

While senior members of the royal family generally rely on guidance from their aides for their public addresses, it’s been claimed that Kate wrote “every word” of the deeply personal two-minute speech by herself.

“She wrote the words herself, delivered it personally and wanted to decide when the time was right to hit the world with this news,” a source told People magazine.

Another source told the publication that William is “extremely proud” of Kate for the courage and strength she has shown not just this week, but since her surgery in January.”

The ‘Charles’ factor in her decision

The princess was said to be encouraged by the support her father-in-law, King Charles, received after going public with his cancer diagnosis last month, which was “a factor” in her decision.

“A factor in their decision to go public would have been the great warmth and affection received by the King as a result of his announcement,” a royal source told the Times.

“It meant a huge amount to him.”

Charles thinks of Kate as his “daughter”. Picture: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)

The King, in the grips of his own cancer battle, even travelled from London to Windsor Castle for a private lunch with his “beloved daughter-in-law” on Thursday, just one day before she shared her news publicly.

“It is highly unusual for just the two of them to sit down together like this,” a palace insider told The Sun, adding that the King had already been told of her condition and was there to offer support.

“The King left his lunch feeling very emotional,” the source said.

“They are very close and he thinks of Catherine as his daughter. There is no doubt there is a lot they can share and can use each other for support during their own deeply personal cancer battles.”

Grim reality after Harry, Meghan reach out

Meanwhile, it was reported shortly after Kate’s video went live that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle had not been told of the situation ahead of the broadcast, and had found out with the rest of the world.

It’s understood that Harry reached out to his brother and Kate, whom he once shared a close relationship with, after hearing the news, signalling a thaw in their ongoing feud.

According to the UK’s Telegraph, this could be bolstered by Harry’s plan to attend a service at St Paul’s Cathedral in May, in honour of the 10th anniversary of his Invictus Games, although this is yet to be officially confirmed.

However, while sources have indicated in recent months that he’s keen to mend fences with his family and pitch in during this time of crisis, the publication adds that he’s likely to be rebuffed by William.

Sources close to the Wales told the Telegraph that amid all their concerns, the “Harry problem” is not even ranking in their priority list.

They added that with trust in Harry and his wife – who have repeatedly publicly aired details of their grievances with William and Kate – “well and truly shattered”, the Prince of Wales is now focused solely on protecting his wife and shielding her from any added distress.

Originally published as Fresh details emerge after Kate’s shock cancer revelation: ‘Reeling’