BRAVELY REVEALING HER CANCER DIAGNOSIS THE PRINCESS OF WALES ASKS FOR TIME TO RECOVER WITH HER FAMILY AND GIVES THANKS FOR THE OUTPOURING OF SUPPORT

As they begin Easter break with their three children, the Prince and Princess of Wales are doing their best to shield Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, 5, following Kate's heart-rending revelation that she is being treated for cancer.

- TRACY SCHAVERIEN AND ALISON EASTWOOD

Kate, 42, and William, 41, plan to spend the time privately as a family while they continue to process the news and help their children come to terms with it.

The princess made her powerful and very personal announcement a first for any member of the Royal Family in a candid video message on March 22, speaking of the "incredibly tough couple of months" her family has experienced and how her diagnosis came as "a huge shock."

‘Having William by my side is great source of comfort and reassurance’

Moving viewers around the world to tears, Kate explained how the cancer was discovered after her planned abdominal surgery in January and said she is receiving preventative chemotherapy. "I am well and getting stronger every day," she said with a brave smile, "by focusing on the things that will help me heal - in my mind, body and spirits." 

Hello! understands that the Princess of Wales began her cancer treatment in late February, but she and William wanted to delay making it public until the children had embarked on their two-week Easter vacation. In addition to wanting to shelter her young ones from the maelstrom that would inevitably surround an announcement of this magnitude, Kate herself needed space to come to terms with her diagnosis, as well as to recover from her surgery.

Her health crisis is the reason William pulled out of the memorial service for his late godfather, ex-King Constantine of Greece, in Windsor on Feb. 27, sources tell Hello! Scheduled to give a reading, he cancelled at the last minute, citing "a personal issue."

SPEAKING FROM THE HEART