Kate, princess of Wales, says she has cancer and is undergoing chemotherapy

After weeks of speculation about her whereabouts, Kate Middleton has asked for ‘privacy’ while she is seeking treatment.

Catherine, the princess of Wales, has said she has cancer and is undergoing preventive chemotherapy.

The British royal’s condition was disclosed in a video message recorded on Wednesday and broadcast on Friday. It comes after weeks of speculation on social media about her whereabouts and health since she was hospitalised in January for unspecified abdominal surgery.

Kate asked for “time, space and privacy” while she is treated for an unspecified type of cancer that was found to be present following her surgery.

“I am well,” she said. “I am getting stronger every day by focusing on the things that will help me heal.”

Kate, 42, had not been seen publicly since Christmas until video surfaced this week reportedly of her with her husband, Prince William, heir to the throne, walking from a farm shop near their Windsor home.

Kensington Palace had given little detail about Kate’s condition beyond saying it was not cancer-related, the surgery was successful and recuperation would keep the princess away from public duties until April.

Royal watcher and commentator Richard Fitzwilliams said this is a “very difficult time for the monarchy”.

He described Kate’s video message as as “absolutely extraordinary situation”.

“This was a shock,” Fitzwilliams told Al Jazeera, adding that the situation is “potentially tragic” and “extremely serious”.

“She’s not only recovering from major surgery but also fighting cancer,” he said. “We don’t know how things will pan out in the months to come,” he added, referring to Kate’s potential participation in royal engagements.

Rumours

The news is another shock for the royal family since the announcement last month that King Charles III was being treated for an unspecified type of cancer that was detected while he underwent a procedure for a benign enlarged prostate.

Charles, 75, has withdrawn from public duties while he has cancer treatment, though he has appeared frequently in photos carrying on meetings with government officials and dignitaries and was even seen going to church.

Kate, on the other hand, had been out of view, leading to weeks of speculation and gossip. Attempts to put rumours to bed by releasing a photo of her on Mother’s Day in the UK surrounded by her three smiling children backfired when news agencies retracted the image because it had been manipulated.

Kate issued a statement the next day acknowledging she liked to “experiment with editing” and apologising for “any confusion” the photo had caused. But that did little to quell the speculation.

Earlier this week, a British privacy watchdog said it was investigating a report that staff at the private London hospital where she was treated tried to snoop on her medical records while she was a patient for abdominal surgery.

The former Kate Middleton, who married William in a fairytale wedding in 2011, has boosted the popularity and appeal of the British monarchy worldwide more than any royal since Princess Diana.

The princess is the oldest of three children brought up in a well-to-do neighbourhood in Berkshire, west of London. The Middletons have no aristocratic background, and the British press often referred to Kate as a “commoner” marrying into royalty.

Kate attended the private girls’ school Marlborough College and then the University of St Andrews in Scotland, where she met William around 2001. Friends and housemates at first, their relationship came to be in the public eye when they were pictured together on a skiing holiday in Switzerland in 2004.

Kate graduated in 2005 with a degree in art history and a budding relationship with the prince.