That Princess of Wales has revealed that she has been diagnosed Cancer and been on ‘preventive’ chemotherapy after major abdominal surgery.
Kate’s absence from public life as she recovered had led to wild theories about her well-being, despite being photographed four times in less than three weeks.
Now today’s announcement revealed her diagnosis – and met comes after King Charles III was diagnosed with cancer last month.
Here, MailOnline looks back at the last few months of royal news leading up to the dramatic news released by Kensington Palace today.
25 December 2023Kate will attend a Christmas Day service at Sandringham in Norfolk, which was her last public appearance at a royal event. She arrived with her husband Prince William and their children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis as well as other members of the royal family.
16 January 2024: Kate is admitted to the London Clinic for planned abdominal surgery, although this news is not announced until the next day.
17 January: Kensington Palace reveals that Kate is being treated in hospital after undergoing a successful operation. Royal aides say she is expected to stay in hospital for ten to 14 days before returning home to continue her recovery. At the time of the operation, Kate’s condition was not believed to be cancerous – and no tests had confirmed the presence of cancer.
17 January: Buckingham Palace announces just 90 minutes later that King Charles will be treated in hospital for an enlarged prostate.
25 December 2023: Kate was last seen with her family at church in Sandringham
21st of January: Prince Andrew’s ex-wife Sarah, Duchess of York reveals she has been diagnosed with skin cancer, six months after being treated for breast cancer.
January 26: King Charles goes into the London Clinic for his prostate treatment.
January 29Kate and Charles are both discharged from the London Clinic on the same day. Charles is seen waving to well-wishers as he leaves with Camilla. Kate is not pictured leaving, but Kensington Palace says she has returned home to Windsor.
February 5: Buckingham Palace reveals that Charles has cancer.
March 10: Kensington Palace released the first picture of Kate since her stomach operation
February 7: Prince Harry arrives in the UK from California to visit his father before leaving the next day.
February 27: William pulls out of a memorial service for the late King Constantine of Greece in Windsor due to a ‘personal matter’.
Later that day, Buckingham Palace separately said that Thomas Kingston, son-in-law of Prince Michael of Kent, had died aged 45.
At the end of February: Kensington Palace said on March 22 that Kate would start a course of ‘preventive chemotherapy’ in ‘late February’, but has not confirmed the exact date. It is also understood that post-operative tests found that cancer had been present, although again there is no exact date on these.
4th of March: A photo published in the US shows Kate in Windsor as the front seat passenger of a car driven by her mother, Carole Middleton.
March 11: Prince William and Kate are seen leaving Windsor together while being driven in a car
March 10: Kensington Palace releases a photograph of Kate and her children to mark Mother’s Day.
March 11: Irregularities are discovered in the Mother’s Day photograph, leading to the Princess admitting to ‘editing’ the photo and apologizing for any ‘confusion’ caused. Kate is later seen being driven out of Windsor in a car with William.
March 18: A video has been published by TMZ and The Sun of William and Kate leaving the Windsor Farm Shop after a visit on March 16.
22. of March: The princess reveals in a video message that she has cancer.