Catherine the courageous

Silencing months of speculation, the Princess of Wales bravely revealed her cancer diagnosis

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If the world needed any more confirmation of the Princess of Wales' "great strength", then it came in the form of the two-minute video message she wrote and released on March 22, bravely revealing she is battling cancer after it was discovered following her admittance to hospital for major abdominal surgery in January.

PERSONAL DECISION

In the powerful video message, filmed as the 42-year-old sat on a wooden bench bathed in spring sunshine, Catherine spoke of the "incredibly tough couple of months" that her family had experienced and how her diagnosis had come as a "huge shock", but reassured that she is undergoing preventative chemotherapy and is "going to be OK"

The only time her stoicism wavered was when her voice broke as she spoke of breaking the heartbreaking news to her three children, George, 10, Charlotte, eight, and Louis, five.

It's believed Kate started cancer treatment in late February, but she and Prince William, 41, delayed making a public announcement until the children had finished school for the Easter break so they could surround them with love and support as the rest of the world found out.