Prince William learned of Kate Middleton’s cancer diagnosis before abruptly pulling out of godfather’s memorial service

Middleton emerged for the first time in public when she and William went shopping at a Windsor farmer’s market this weekend. Palace sources were hopeful that the sighting would put an end to the gossip surrounding her health, but netizens were still convinced that something was off.

It wasn’t until Friday that Middleton announced that she received test results from her mysterious procedure that revealed she had cancer present in her body.

“My medical team therefore advised that I should undergo a course of preventative chemotherapy and I am now in the early stages of that treatment,” Middleton said in her statement. “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.”

The Prince and Princess of Wales decided to wait to announce her diagnosis until after their three young children — Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, 5 — were ready to handle it.

“As you can imagine, this has taken time. It has taken me time to recover from major surgery in
order to start my treatment,” Middleton continued.

“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.”

Middleton, who did not disclose the type of cancer she has, also said that William has been her constant support during her struggle and called him “a great source of comfort.”

Her shocking cancer diagnosis comes one month after King Charles III revealed his own battle with cancer.