Princess Kate Decided She Didn’t Want Prince William in Her Video Message Alongside Her as She Announced Her Cancer Diagnosis

In the Princess of Wales’ video message released on Friday, during which she revealed to the world that she has been diagnosed with cancer and is undergoing preventative chemotherapy treatments, she sat alone on a bench on the grounds of Windsor Castle. Though she did mention her husband, Prince William, in the video—“Having William by my side is a great source of comfort and reassurance,” she said—he was not seated next to her, as many would imagine he might be with an announcement of this magnitude. But just as the idea to do a video message at all was Kate’s—as was the speech itself, which she penned—Kate wanted to be seen by herself, a source told The Sunday Times.

“This was her as a strong woman sharing an innately strong message to the nation,” they said. “She didn’t need anyone sitting next to her. He has been supporting her and the family in the background.”

Kate was keen to share her news via video and not just a statement to “reassure people,” they said. “A written statement, she felt, would be too jarring. It was about people seeing her, and her reassuring people that she was positive about it. Knowing it was news that was going to shock people, she wanted to do it as compassionately as possible.”

William supported Kate’s decision to tell the world this way, and is “extremely proud of his wife for the courage and strength she has shown not just this week, but since her surgery in January,” a source speaking to The Telegraph said. 

William played an important part in Kate’s decision to announce her diagnosis this way and, while he wished she didn’t have to do it, knew it was her choice and he backed her up: “It was her decision, it wasn’t begrudged, and he fully supported it,” a close friend of William’s told The Sunday Times.

Royal correspondent Rebecca English saw William recently at a royal engagement and noted that the future king had “the weight of the world on his shoulders,” she wrote for The Daily Mail. “I couldn’t quite put my finger on exactly what it was, but there was a slight sadness around the eyes, and, noticeably, a loss of weight.” She added “How remarkable that he has even been able to do half of what he has undertaken publicly in recent months—even carrying out investitures for his cancer-stricken father—given everything that has been going on behind the scenes.”

Kate’s video announcement was made Friday as her three kids Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis begin Easter break. The family of five are reportedly off to their country home, Anmer Hall, on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, where they wish to get away from it all. As one can imagine, the situation surrounding his wife—the endless conspiracy theories, speculation, and rumors over the past month—has made William more fiercely protective of her than ever: “Undoubtedly what has happened to him in his life [with his mother, Princess Diana] has led him into the protection mode he is in now,” a friend said, per The Mirror. 

An aide added that “All he wants to do is protect his wife and children. The family just want to go away for Easter, spend time together, the five of them, close off from the world, and move on.”