Princess Kate reveals she has cancer and is undergoing chemotherapy

Kate, Princess of Wales, has released a statement saying she has been diagnosed with cancer.

The princess disclosed her condition in a video message recorded Wednesday (Mar. 20) in Windsor and broadcast Friday (Mar. 22). In it, she said she wanted to thank people for their messages of support after her abdominal surgery in January. She said her condition was initially thought to be non-cancerous but tests after the operation found cancer.

She said she is undergoing “preventative chemotherapy” for the disease.

The announcement came after relentless speculation on social media ever since January, when she was hospitalized for unspecified abdominal surgery. Kate asked for “time, space and privacy” while she is treated for an unspecified type of cancer that was discovered after what she described as “major” surgery.

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

Kate, 42, hadn’t been seen publicly since Christmas until video surfaced this week of her with her husband, Prince William, heir to the throne. It showed them walking from a shop that sells produce grown on the royal family's Windsor estate.

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

Charles said he is “so proud of Catherine for her courage in speaking as she did,” according to a statement released by Buckingham Palace. The king, who received prostate treatment in the same hospital and at the same time Kate had her surgery, remained in the “closest contact with his beloved daughter-in-law" in the past weeks.

The king and Queen Camilla “will continue to offer their love and support to the whole family through this difficult time," the palace said.