London: UK's Prince William on Friday said his wife Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales, was "doing well" in a rare comment about her after she disclosed her cancer diagnosis in March. Kate is undergoing preventative chemotherapy after cancer was found following abdominal surgery she underwent at the start of the year.
She said at the time she was well, but the couple's office has said they would not be providing regular updates on her health and she is not due to return to public duties until her doctors say she is well enough to do so. The news came after King Charles III, her father-in-law, announced his own cancer diagnosis.
However, asked how his wife was faring during a visit to a community hospital on the Isles of Scilly off the coast of Cornwall in southwest England, William, 41, replied: "She's doing well, thank you, yes." The Duke of Cornwall was on a two-day trip to the region, where he saw a site for a new project to tackle homelessness, spent time on a beach with local groups and visited a community hospital.
William arrived by boat on Friday on the Isles of Scilly, 28 miles (17 miles) off the coast of Cornwall, buying a Cornish pasty, the region's famous savoury pastry and telling crowds who had gathered on the quayside that his family were "very upset" that he was there without them. He also met harbour operators and local business people on St Mary's, the largest of the islands, talking to them about their preparations for the summer tourist season.
Kate's cancer diagnosis
The prince stepped away from public duties after Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales, announced on March 22 that she was undergoing treatment for an unspecified type of cancer. "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," said Kate. "This of course came as a huge shock, and William and I have been doing everything we can to process and manage this privately for the sake of our young family."
Dressed in jeans and a jumper, Kate looked pale and tired in the March video. Prince Harry and Megan Markle have extended words of support to the Princess. Kate, 42, hadn't been seen publicly since Christmas and underwent an abdominal surgery at the London Clinic in January. Kensington Palace had given little detail about Kate's condition beyond saying it wasn't cancer-related, the surgery was successful and recuperation would keep the princess away from public duties until April.
Both King Charles and Kate have been largely absent from the public stage since January due to health problems, leaving Queen Camilla, Princess Anne and other members of the royal family to pick up the slack on the whirl of events and awards ceremonies that dominate the work of Britain's monarchy. There had been massive speculation over Kate's health after a photograph uploaded by the Palace was found to be "heavily edited" and retracted from international news agencies, for which Kate had to apologise.
King Charles returns to public duties
The British monarch returned to public duties late last month by visiting a cancer treatment charity, beginning his carefully managed comeback after his cancer diagnosis sidelined him for three months. The palace said last week that doctors were “very encouraged” by the king's progress, but his schedule would be adjusted as needed to protect his recovery.
On Thursday, he visited a military training college, where the King joked that he had been "allowed out of his cage". ""I do apologise for taking you by surprise, but when this opportunity appeared and I had been allowed out of my cage, I wanted to come and see," he told soldiers as he met staff and their families at the 3 Royal School Of Military Engineering in southern England.
A spokesperson for Prince Harry said a reunion between Charles and his estranged son would "not be possible due to his majesty’s full programme". Harry was also busy on Thursday, visiting bereaved military children in London, chatting and playing games with them and spending time with their parents, the charity hosting the event said.
(with inputs from Reuters)
ALSO READ | UK: King Charles III returns to public duties with a trip to a cancer charity
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