We begin with trees and dappled sunlight. Then ferns, in the foreground, in all their magical symmetry. A slow piano begins, setting the tone.
The camera reveals the Princess of Wales in a simple white summer dress decorated with black broderie anglaise at the wheel of her car as she drives along country roads.
“As summer draws to a close,” she begins, “I cannot express to you the relief I feel at having finally completed my chemotherapy treatment…”
The lens lingers on his hand, which rests gently on the gear-stick, the jewels on his ring finger softly sparkling. It cuts to a slow-motion scene, some walking while standing near a tree, a close-up of those famously lush locks of hair, and then the footage transforms into a home-movie-style reel. Prince William and the kids, dressed in artfully mismatched weekend casual wear, are having a good time on the Norfolk sand dunes.
The princess rests her head on his shoulder as they play with each other’s hands, laughing as they lie, arms intertwined, in the sand.
In an uplifting video message shared today, the Princess of Wales revealed that she has completed her “preventative chemotherapy” treatment.
The princess’s personal message to the nation is accompanied by a stunning three-minute video showing her and William in Norfolk with their three children.
Catherine spoke of her ‘relief’ at the end of her chemotherapy programme
Catherine and Princess Charlotte hold arms as they walk through a field.
Catherine hugs Charlotte during tender exchange caught on camera
The Cambridges and their three children climb tree trunks near their home in Norfolk
“Is this a recording?” asks Prince George, his face moving closer to the camera and his mother smiling quietly in the background. They play cards with Grandma and Grandpa Middleton. Later, the princess walks alone through a summer field, her fingers running through the long grass, the evening sun burning into the lens, before a crescendo of piano and strings, slightly Celtic in tone, signals the climax of this charming royal tableau.
The voice-over is that of the princess herself; as for the rest, well, it’s pure big screen. The moment in the field is unmistakably reminiscent of the opening frames of Ridley Scott’s Gladiator. Is there a subliminal message here?
Either way, as far as royal announcements go, it certainly represents a big departure. Not even the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have ever managed to produce anything as elegant or as emotionally charged.
It also stands in stark contrast to the attitude of the King himself. His Majesty has adopted a stoic and fairly traditional approach to his own illness, continues to make public appearances and appears – on the surface at least – to be the very embodiment of that old Churchillian adage, KBO (Keep Buggering On). Meanwhile, the Princess of Wales’s journey with cancer has been – on the surface at least – quite different.
It is true that we do not know – and probably never will know – the exact nature of her diagnosis, but whatever the physical effects, emotionally it seems to have hit her very hard: it was a “scary and unpredictable time”, as she herself says.
As is often the case when a serious illness strikes, it has led her to look deep within herself, to “reflect and be grateful for the simple but important things in life, which many of us often take for granted. Of simply loving and being loved.”
While the king has tried to maintain normality as much as humanly possible, the princess has almost completely withdrawn from public life. This film marks the beginning of her comeback.
Some royal fans may find it a bit over the top. There is certainly an Instagrammable quality to it, a visual sophistication that traditionalists may find a bit jarring.
But I think it’s a generational thing. The Prince and Princess of Wales are millennial royals. They grew up in a visual age, but also in an age where expressing one’s feelings is not as frowned upon as it was for King Charles and his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth.
There is also a strong sense that it is not just about the Waleses as a family, but about William and Kate as a couple. They are not usually very affectionate in public, but that does not mean they do not love each other deeply.
Princess Catherine’s mother Carole appears in emotional video announcing the end of Kate’s cancer
Kate Middleton’s family appears in the emotional three-minute video
The family shares a cozy picnic.
Princess Charlotte hugs her parents as they look out onto a beach in Norfolk
The Cambridge children are seen playing in intimate family scenes.
Catalina kisses her eldest daughter’s head in a tender hug.
Cheeky Louis is seen climbing a tree as his mother watches.
Catherine appeared happy and relaxed in the video, which will delight her millions of followers.
Catherine and William hug each other on a picnic blanket in an adorable moment from the video.
Here we see a bit of that love expressed physically in a way that is as unexpected as it is unknown. They are presented not only as royalty and parents, but also as boyfriends.
It is also a tacit but highly effective refutation of the rumours, widely spread on social media, that have dogged them in recent years.
Would the slow motion have been toned down a bit? Probably. But there is no doubt about the authenticity of this video, nor the sincere intention, nor a genuine desire to connect with the audience on a human level, to thank the nation for its patience and to show real gratitude for all the support.
But for me, what is perhaps most moving about this film is the way the Waleses have turned the princess’s experience into something positive – a stark contrast to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s response to their own travails, which only seem to have led them down an increasingly negative path.
The truth is that we all face challenges in life, whether through illness, misfortune or any other cause. The true test is what you learn from these experiences and where they take you.
It seems to me that, despite everything (not only the cancer, but also the terrible internal struggles at Windsor), the princess is happy. It is a joy to see that.