In the Princess of Wales’s public statement announcing her cancer, she didn’t get into the nitty-gritty of the timeline of when she learned her diagnosis and when she began the chemotherapy treatments. She said: “In January, I underwent major abdominal surgery in London and at the time, it was thought that my condition was non-cancerous. The surgery was successful. However, tests after the operation found cancer had been present. My medical team therefore advised that I should undergo a course of preventative chemotherapy and I am now in the early stages of that treatment.” The palace’s initial statement about the abdominal surgery in January did not include anything about cancer or even concerns that her condition might be cancerous. The palace also briefed reporters at the time that Kate’s condition was “not cancer.”

Kate’s statement also creates a timeline in which she apparently learned of the cancer weeks, perhaps even a month or longer, after the initial abdominal surgery. Kensington Palace then leaned into that new timeline. On the heels of Kate’s video, KP briefed reporters that Kate’s cancer diagnosis and chemotherapy were the reasons why Prince William suddenly pulled out of his scheduled appearance at King Constantine’s memorial on February 27th, 40-odd days after Kate’s surgery. William’s withdrawal really started the four weeks of “Where is Kate” speculation, and KP once again insisted (at the time) to the British media that William’s withdrawal was a “personal matter” but “Kate is doing well.”

When the Prince of Wales unexpectedly pulled out of attending a memorial service for his godfather King Constantine of Greece last month, there was widespread speculation it was connected to the death of Thomas Kingston, the husband of Lady Gabriella Windsor.

It has now emerged that the unspecified “personal reason” given for his absence from St George’s Chapel in Windsor on Feb 27 was that his wife, the Princess of Wales, had recently received a cancer diagnosis. Having undergone major abdominal surgery at the London Clinic in January, which was deemed a success, post-operative tests discovered that cancer had been present, contrary to all pre-operative tests – and a statement from Kensington Palace – that had suggested her condition was not cancer.

The news of the Princess’s cancer – which comes on top of the King’s cancer diagnosis in January – comes at a difficult time for the Royal family but also explains much of the mystery that has prompted wild speculation about the Princess’s health in recent weeks, including, perhaps, the now infamous doctored Mothering Sunday picture of her. The fury in royal circles over the controversy the picture generated is more understandable in the light of what we now know. The Prince of Wales was trying to protect his wife at a time when she was at her most vulnerable, and together they were trying to find a way of telling their children about their mother’s medical diagnosis.

Whether or not the photograph was altered by the Princess to hide any tell-tale signs of her treatment we may never find out, but what was driving the anger at the international response to the touched-up image of the Princess and her three children now becomes clear.

While internet trolls were speculating that the Princess had faked the picture because she was not well enough to pose for one, or even that she was dead, the couple and their staff were having to bite their tongues, primarily for the sake of Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.

The fact that the Princess has only released details of her cancer diagnosis on the day her children have broken up from school for Easter is no coincidence. Royal aides said the couple wanted to be able to tell their children at a time that was right for them and to “understand and process” the news before it became public. Only after the children had finished school for Easter did they feel that it was “the right time to share this update”. Aides have made it clear that the decision to go public about the cancer diagnosis, and the timing of it, had nothing to do with the ongoing speculation about Catherine’s health.

[From The Telegraph]

So… William abruptly pulled out of the memorial (just an hour before it began), and told everyone it wasn’t about Kate and Kate was fine, and now they’re saying oh, it was all about Kate and he was trying to protect her because he just learned about her diagnosis? The moment he pulled out of the memorial, all hell broke loose within the British AND international press and it put a huge spotlight on Kate’s health at a time where (as they’re saying now) they were trying to keep everything as normal as possible for their kids. As I said at the time, it felt like William thought it was just going to be a local story which he could control but that was a huge misjudgment across the board. The stuff about the Mother’s Day photo makes no sense either – “The Prince of Wales was trying to protect his wife at a time when she was at her most vulnerable.” William and his office tossed a cancer-stricken Kate under the bus for that fiasco! They blamed her repeatedly and in print!

Not for nothing, but the photos in this post are from March 1st, two days after William pulled out of the memorial service. He traveled to Wrexham and took shots with Rob McElhenney.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.