A light projected onto tomorrow, after the darkness of a long, anguishing and not yet completely overcome tunnel. Kate opens her soul to hopeand the hopes of those who care about the fate of the British monarchy (reflected in that of her popular image as a future queen), announcing to the Kingdom that she has finally completed months of chemotherapy, started last February following a threatening cancer diagnosis made public in March to general shock. The end of a nightmare, perhaps, for the 42-year-old Princess of Wales, consort of the heir to the throne William. Or at least the sign of a concrete glimmer of optimism, as she herself hinted in a new video message, intimate and moving. Video broadcast through the court’s social media profiles with which he wanted to share with his people, and with fans of real events around the world, the prospect of a turning point: returning to confess with an open heart fragility, fears and intimate reflections ofin an “incredibly difficult” phase of his life: in the name of a humanity that unites everyone in illness, privileged and not, royals and subjects, aristocrats and common citizens. A path that still has stages and unknowns. Not having yet reached the goal of a remission of cancer, the certainty of that state of healing (“cancer free”), as specified with the necessary caution in the Kensington Palace case. Limiting itself to mentioning for now a gradual return to public activity, but without any precise timetable. And leaving the BBC with the task of imagining “some possible” official engagement of “Princess Catherine” (after her reappearance for the Trooping the Colour ceremonies in honor of King Charles III’s birthday and the – much applauded – one at the final of the Wimbledon tennis tournament) within the year: perhaps starting with the commemoration of the war dead on Remembrance Day, in November.
“As the summer draws to a close, I can’t tell you what a relief it is to finally have completed my chemotherapy treatment,” Kate began. “The last nine months have been incredibly tough for us as a family. Life as you know can change in an instant and we’ve had to find a way to navigate these stormy waters,” she continued, reading the message in her own voice over the backdrop of a video filmed in August in the greenery surrounding the Galles’ country home in Norfolk, England. The images, accompanied by emotionally engaging music, show her smiling, with William and her three children George, Charlotte and Louis, between hugs, gestures of affection, runs in the fields, moments of abandonment on her husband’s shoulder.. Outside of any ceremonial label or symbolic affectation of royalty. And meanwhile the words follow one another. “Even though I have finished chemo – Kate’s voice resumes – my journey towards healing and full recovery is long and I must continue to take each day as it comes”. The awareness, sincerely acknowledged, is that of a “complex, frightening and unpredictable experience for everyone”, which now leaves behind only the desire to “stay free from cancer”, to try to keep the sword of Damocles of a relapse at bay. “With the humility” of someone who has emerged from the fairy tale to find herself “face to face with her own vulnerabilities in a way that I had never considered before”, the future queen then admits how “this period has prompted William and me to reflect and be grateful for the simple but important things in life, which many of us often take for granted. Simply to love and be loved”. Something that evidently continues to contribute to helping her find the strength to start again, animated by the anxiety of returning to “undertake some other public commitment in the coming months”. And which also suggests patience, with the call to accept things “as they come”, the references to an existence to be lived day by day, the hope of an agenda to be reopened within the limits “of the possible”. In the footsteps of his father-in-law, after all, the 75-year-old King Charles, who entered just yesterday the third year of the reign inherited from Elizabeth II and has himself been struggling since the beginning of 2024 with a cancer of an unspecified nature: sealed by “encouraging” progress certified before his own, up to the green light from doctors for an official trip to Australia that gives hope. “Despite everything that has happened, I enter this new phase of recovery with a renewed sense of hope and appreciation for life”, Kate’s conclusion. Accompanied by a thought, an encouragement and a promise addressed to other patients, before anyone else: “To all those who are continuing their journey against cancer I want to say that I remain with you, side by side, hand in hand. From darkness can come light, let it shine brightly.”