The Princess of Wales is undergoing preventative chemotherapy to treat an undisclosed form of cancer, Kensington Palace has announced.
Kate, 42, began her course of treatment at the end of February, almost one month ago.
But HELLO! understands that she and her husband Prince William decided to wait a few weeks before sharing her diagnosis with the public to give them and their family time to digest the news.
© GettyIn her video message filmed by BBC Studios in Windsor and released on Friday, Kate admitted that the past few months have been "tough" for the whole family, including their three young children, Prince George, ten, Princess Charlotte, eight, and Prince Louis, five.
HELLO! understands that because the children broke up for their Easter school holidays on Friday, now felt like the right time for the Princess to publicly share this update.
The Waleses will now be spending the Easter break in private and are not expected to attend the traditional Easter Sunday church service with the rest of the royal family. They will likely spend the next few weeks enjoying quality time together, away from the glare of the media and the public spotlight.
© GettyIn her powerful and personal video message, Kate revealed that she is in the early stages of preventative chemotherapy treatment. Her abdominal surgery in January had been successful and at the time, it was thought that her condition was non-cancerous.
However, tests after the operation found that cancer was present.
The Princess began her message by saying: "I wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you, personally, for all the wonderful messages of support and for your understanding whilst I have been recovering from surgery.
"It has been an incredibly tough couple of months for our entire family, but I’ve had a fantastic medical team who have taken great care of me, for which I am so grateful."
She reiterated that it has taken time for her to process the news, and to explain her diagnosis to her young children: "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. As you can imagine, this has taken time.
"It has taken me time to recover from major surgery in order to start my treatment. But, most importantly, it has taken us time to explain everything to George, Charlotte and Louis in a way that is appropriate for them, and to reassure them that I am going to be ok.
"As I have said to them; I am well and getting stronger every day by focusing on the things that will help me heal; in my mind, body and spirits.
"Having William by my side is a great source of comfort and reassurance too. As is the love, support and kindness that has been shown by so many of you. It means so much to us both."
The Princess concluded her message by stating that she is focusing on making a full recovery and will return to work when she is able to. "For everyone facing this disease, in whatever form, please do not lose faith or hope. You are not alone," she concluded.
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