THE YEAR THAT WAS

THE STORIES THAT HAD THE COUNTRY TALKING

- Kylie Walters

A PRINCESS CHANGED

While attending her annual Together at Christmas carols service on December 6, the Princess of Wales reflected on her extraordinary past 12 months. “I didn’t know this time last year it was going to be the year I’ve just had,” Princess Catherine said. “The unplanned.”

Indeed, best-laid plans – and the royal rule book – were thrown out in 2024 after Kensington Palace announced in January that Kate, 42, would take several months off to recover from a “planned abdominal surgery”. In the weeks afterward, discussions on her whereabouts dominated online, with rumours ranging from everything that the princess was laying low while growing out a bad haircut to her death. Celebrities including Kim Kardashian and Blake Lively even weighed in, with the Gossip Girl star later admitting her regret.

What was supposed to be a sweet family picture of Kate with Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, 9, and 6-year-old Prince Louis for Mother’s Day in the UK on March 10 saw the royal family ditch its motto of “never complain, never explain” after a furore erupted when photo agencies pulled the photoshopped snap from use. The princess, who had barely put a foot wrong since her marriage to Prince William in 2011, was forced to apologise. In the days that followed, she revealed she’d been taking a private moment to come to terms with a shock cancer diagnosis.

“William and I have been doing everything we can to process and manage this privately for the sake of our young family,” Kate said in a video filmed in front of a bed of daffodils – the international symbol of hope for those battling the disease.