Kate Middleton announces cancer diagnosis in video statement

After speculating around On the health and whereabouts of Kate Middleton, the royal family released a video on Friday announcing that she has been diagnosed with a life-threatening condition.

“At the time, my condition was considered non-cancerous,” Kate Middleton shares in a video statement. “Surgery was successful, however, post-surgery tests for cancer were present.”

In the two-minute video, filmed on Wednesday from BBC studios, Middleton says she has started chemotherapy as a form of preventative treatment. Middleton was admitted to a London clinic on January 16 for a “planned” non-cancerous abdominal procedure, according to announcement from Kensington Palace. Middleton remains in the hospital for 10 to 14 days, followed by recovery at home. In late January, Middleton was discharged and returned to Adelaide Cottage, the couple's royal residence at Windsor Castle.

“That of course came as a huge shock,” he says. “Both William and I are doing our best to process it and manage it privately for the sake of our young family. As you can imagine, this took time. It took me time to recover from major surgery to begin my treatment. But more importantly, it took us time to explain everything to George Charlotte and Louis in a way that was convenient for them and to reassure them that I would be fine.”

With the Princess of Wales largely out of the public eye, it left many on social media to draw their own conclusions. Some tabloids have speculated that the Royal left the grounds of Windsor Castle, with TMZ is rolling a possible photo of Middleton driving in the passenger seat of a vehicle on March 4, next to what looks like Carole Middleton's mother. And on March 10, an incorrect picture of Middleton with her three children — Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis — released by Kensington Palace to mark Britain's Mother's Day left many questioning her physical health.