Prince Harry and Meghan Markle sent a supportive message to Kate Middleton just hours after it was revealed that she has cancer.
“We wish health and healing for Kate and the family, and hope they are able to do so privately and in peace,” the Duke and Duchess of Sussex said in a statement Friday.
Harry and Markle’s statement comes after Middleton, 42, somberly announced that she had been diagnosed with cancer following a planned surgery in January.
“I wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you, personally, for all the wonderful messages of support and for your understanding whilst I have been recovering from surgery,” she said in the video message filmed by BBC Studios.
The Princess of Wales said it has been “an incredibly tough couple of months” for her and her family but she is “so grateful” for the medical team who has taken care of her.
“In January, I underwent major abdominal surgery in London and at the time, it was thought that my condition was non-cancerous,” she explained. “The surgery was successful. However, tests after the operation found cancer had been present.”
Middleton said she was advised by her medical teams to “undergo a course of preventative chemotherapy,” which she said she is now in the early stages of.
The mom of three said the diagnosis “came as a huge shock” to her and her husband, Prince William, and they have been doing everything they can to “process and manage this privately” for the sake of their three children: Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, 5.
Middleton said she and the Prince of Wales, 41, have been reassuring the kids that she is “going to be OK.”
“As I have said to them; I am well and getting stronger every day by focusing on the things that
will help me heal; in my mind, body and spirits,” she continued.
The princess said William has been a “great source of comfort and reassurance” for her on top of the “support and kindness” the public has shown her.
“We hope that you will understand that, as a family, we now need some time, space and privacy while I complete my treatment. My work has always brought me a deep sense of joy and I look forward to being back when I am able, but for now I must focus on making a full recovery,” she added.
“At this time, I am also thinking of all those whose lives have been affected by cancer. For everyone facing this disease, in whatever form, please do not lose faith or hope. You are not alone.”
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Middleton has kept a low profile since she was released from the hospital on Jan. 29.
Due to the discreet nature surrounding her surgery and Middleton’s “altered” Mother’s Day photo, conspiracy theories about the royal’s whereabouts surfaced online.
Middleton’s diagnosis is the second time cancer has struck the royal family recently.
In February, Buckingham Palace announced that her father-in-law, King Charles III, had been diagnosed with cancer following his recent surgery for benign prostate enlargement.
