Normally, people have one of two reactions when it comes to the Royal Family. Some see them as inspirational figures who are here to lead us, especially during times of crisis and uncertainty. Others see them as relics of a bygone age with ostentatious titles that seem a little silly, especially when their own nation is primarily led by a prime minister.
With Kate Middleton, though, many have now had a very different reaction: that of worry and even pity. The princess’s cancer diagnosis made countless people worry about her health, especially because her family tried to initially shroud it in secrecy. Kate is now in recovery, but her withdrawal from certain official events has renewed public concerns that she might be sicker than anyone realizes.
Those fears are understandable, but completely unfounded. In reality, there’s a very good reason why everyone can stop fretting about Kate Middleton. Just what is this reason? Keep reading to find out!
Kate’s scary cancer diagnosis
Once upon a time, the only thing about Kate Middleton that people worried about was some of her wackier fashion choices. Oh, and that wild tiff with Megan Markle, of course. Otherwise, though, she seemed like she was one of the luckiest women in the world. She was young, beautiful, and married to the future King of England…what could she possibly have to be worried about?
However, in March 2024, she revealed that she had been diagnosed with cancer. It was a shocking revelation, especially in the wake of King Charles’ own cancer diagnosis. But what made it worse in many ways was that the Royal Family took a number of clumsy steps trying to obscure the news after Kate’s hospital visit in January. This included declaring she was doing well and condoning the release of multiple photos that had been edited, which made major news agencies question whether they could trust what Kensington Palace had to say.
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Chemotherapy and recovery
After Kate came clean about her cancer diagnosis, she could also be honest about her chemotherapy and recovery plans. This understandably made everyone sympathetic about her diagnosis and also ended much of the speculation about things like her or her family missing certain royal events. And this story seemingly had a happy ending when she announced that her chemotherapy had ended last September and that her cancer was now in remission.
Implicitly, many people thought that it would only be a matter of time before Kate returned to her old life. As one of the most important members of the Royal Family (she’s the future Queen, after all), that meant returning to all those official events and public appearances she has always attended. However, she missed out on one recent event, and that reignited speculation that her health had taken a sudden turn for the worse.
Why fans recently worried about Kate’s health
One of the major events that Kate was scheduled to attend this year was the Royal Ascot. If you’re not familiar with this event, it’s a special week of racing held each year at the Ascot Racecourse. The event is attended by the King and Queen, and other major royals typically attend as part of an annual tradition.
This year, Kate announced that she would not be attending the Royal Ascot. As you might imagine, this kicked off a wave of speculation that her health must have taken a turn for the worse and that, like before, she and the Royal Family were trying to hide it from the public. Recently, though, a former spokesperson for Queen Elizabeth explained why nobody needs to worry about Kate’s decision.
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Nobody needs to really worry about Kate, though
Is Kate pulling out of the Royal Ascot a sign that her health has taken a sudden downturn? Not likely. At least, that’s what Ailsa Anderson (Queen Elizabeth’s former spokesperson) recently told People. According to her, Kate is “being sensible, listening to what her body is telling her and easing back into public life.”
In other words, the future Queen got a really scary and potentially fatal diagnosis just last year. She’s in remission now, but that doesn’t mean she can or even should rush to act like everything is normal again. Instead, she is choosing to take things easy and concentrate more on her health than on making the public happy. And whether or not you love or hate Kate, you have to admit that is a solid decision.
Interestingly, it’s a decision that has many comparing Kate to another iconic royal: Princess Diana, her late, great mother-in-law. Diana was popular for many reasons, including the fact that she always did what she felt was right regardless of how others felt about it. Kate is now walking in her footsteps, and we imagine that is making Prince William very, very proud.