It's an extremely trying start to the year for the British royal family.
A month and a half after the announcement of Charles III's cancer, Princess Kate Middleton, the wife of his eldest son William, publicly revealed Friday evening that she too had cancer.
Without, however, specifying its nature or stage.
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January 17: announcement of the hospitalization of Kate and Charles
On January 17, Kensington Palace announced that the Princess of Wales, 42, was hospitalized at the London Clinic for “planned abdominal surgery”.
It says the operation was successful but Kate will have to stay in "hospital for 10 to 14 days" and is unlikely to return to official duties until Easter.
Faced with questions, the palace relayed the information to British royal correspondents that it was not cancer.
William announces that he will suspend his activities in order to stay close to his wife and their three children.
A few hours later, Buckingham Palace announced that King Charles III, who is 75 years old and acceded to the throne in September 2022, must be hospitalized due to benign prostatic hypertrophy.
This communication on the king's health, unusual on the part of the monarchy, was intended to encourage screening for this pathology, very common among men of a certain age and generally not serious.
January 21: “Fergie” melanoma
On January 21, Sarah Ferguson, 64, the ex-wife of Prince Andrew, the king's brother, announced that she was suffering from malignant melanoma, a skin cancer.
Six months earlier, in June 2023, she had already announced that she had been diagnosed with an early form of breast cancer.
Sarah still lives in Windsor in a royal residence which she shares with Prince Andrew, with whom she remains close, despite their divorce in 1996.
January 26: the king admitted to hospital
Charles III enters the very posh London Clinic, where Kate is also located.
He arrives at the clinic with his wife Camilla, who visits him several times during his hospitalization.
The king greets the crowd as he leaves the clinic on January 29.
Kensington Palace also announced on January 29 that Kate had been discharged from the London Clinic, and that she was making “good progress”.
February 5: Charles III announces that he is suffering from cancer
Buckingham Palace announces that the king has cancer discovered during prostate surgery and has begun treatment.
The nature of his cancer has not been specified.
The king begins his treatment.
Charles III has since canceled all official public engagements, but continues to carry out some official functions, such as his talks with the Prime Minister.
Mysterious absence of Kate
In the age of social networks, the silence on the reasons for Kate's operation and her long absence, during which the princess remains invisible, generates an outbreak of speculation.
On February 27, William canceled
at the last minute
his presence at a ceremony in memory of his godfather, King Constantine of Greece, at Windsor Castle, for “personal reasons”.
This cancellation fuels rumors about Kate's state of health.
Faced with new speculation, Kensington Palace assures that the princess “continues to do well” in a statement sent to the British media.
On March 10, for British Mother's Day, Kensington released an official photo of Kate smiling surrounded by her three children, the first since her operation in mid-January.
But Kate eventually admits that the photo was photoshopped.
Enough to revive speculation around his state of health.
March 22: Kate in turn reveals that she has cancer
In a video broadcast Friday evening, the Princess of Wales announces that she has cancer, without specifying its nature, and that she has started chemotherapy, citing a “huge shock”.
“I am now in the early stages of this treatment” of chemotherapy, says Kate, visibly tired.
“The last few months have been incredibly difficult for my whole family,” says the Princess of Wales.
"I'm doing well.
I gain strength every day by focusing on the things that will help me heal in my head, my body and my morale,” assures Kate.