Kate Middleton has taken a different approach than the late Queen Elizabeth when it comes to handling personal matters, particularly in revealing her recent cancer diagnosis to the public.
While Queen Elizabeth kept her personal and health information private throughout her life, Princess Kate chose to share her experience with cancer with her royal followers, marking a significant shift from royal tradition.
Andrew Morton, author of The Queen: 1926-2022explained to OK! Magazine that the late monarch was deeply committed to maintaining privacy around her health. “There’s no doubt that the person who most wanted medical matters to remain private was the Queen,” Morton said. He added: “As soon as the Queen died, it didn’t take a clairvoyant to know that on the death certificate it would just say ‘old age’, as it did with Prince Philip. Even in death, they weren’t going to reveal too much.”
Instead, Kate’s decision to share her diagnosis was praised for raising awareness. According to The mirror, Morton praised the Princess of Wales for speaking openly about her health issues, saying: “The fact that Kate did such a moving piece in front of the camera at Kensington Palace was a very different approach and a real shift in the way the royal family deals with illness.”
Morton also noted that Kate’s openness helped address widespread public curiosity about her condition. “Given the public fascination with what was happening to Kate and the hysteria that surrounded it, I think it was a very astute move, as it burst that bubble of conjecture,” she added.
By choosing transparency, Kate has not only broken away from previous royal customs, but has also created a new level of openness in how the royal family handles personal health matters.