After weeks of speculations about her unexplained absence amid reports of health complications, Britain's Princess of Wales Catherine (popularly known as Kate) announced that she had been diagnosed with cancer.
The announcement was made in a short video message released by the Kensington Palace and the British royal family on Friday.
Kate said that the diagnosis had caught the cancer and that she was in the early stages of chemotherapy.
The 42-year-old had been the subject of speculation regarding her health after she disappeared from public view since Christmas. Prince William had recently confirmed that she was facing health complications after reports of being hospitalised surfaced in January and of undergoing abdominal surgery for an unspecified illness.
However, Kensington Palace had maintained that the surgery was not related to cancer. However, it was said that Kate's pace of recovery would likely see her resume her public duties in April.
Kate's cancer diagnosis follows a similar announcement last month from the monarch, King Charles III, who had withdrawn from public duties after being diagnosed with an unspecified type of cancer. Charles was diagnosed with the disease while undergoing a procedure for a benign enlarged prostate.
The 75-year-old, who only ascended to the throne last year after the passing of Queen Elizabeth the year before, is said to be mulling abdication. In such an event, Princess Kate's husband, Prince William, will be in line to take up the mantle as the king of Enlgand.