‘The Princess of Wales holds a mirror up to our flawed reality and her own frailty’

Since the Princess of Wales’s revelation that she is undergoing chemotherapy after her cancer diagnosis, many conspiracy theorists and high-profile figures who mocked her, have apologised for their behaviour. Here, Tessa Dunlop argues that if Kate can present herself with such poise after weeks of fevered speculation, the onus is now on the rest of us to think carefully about our role in what happens next...

Poised and graceful, The Princess of Wales described how her cancer diagnosis had come as a ‘huge shock’. (AFP or licensors)

In years to come historians will pore over the Princess of Wales’s modest, pitch-perfect video announcement that she has cancer, and hail it as an epoch-defining moment for the royal family.

In a carefully choreographed appearance, Kate sat poised and graceful amidst the spring daffodils and shared her story. She told us it had been an “incredibly tough couple of months”, and that her cancer diagnosis had come as a “huge shock”. The princess talked of being in the early stages of preventive chemotherapy treatment and reminded us of her “young family”, name-checking each of her children, as well as her “fantastic medical team” before signing off with a call out to all those with cancer,  “you are not alone” she assured them.

Even republicans carved from granite could not fail to be moved. I sat with my own young family and tears rolled down our cheeks. When all around her had apparently lost their minds, Kate, not generally known for landmark oratory, gave the speech of her life. Pale but composed, her remarkable two-minute video held a mirror to the nation. In a display of humanity and frailty, she served as a reminder that pain has no hierarchy, and yet here was Kate, when faced with extreme adversity, opting for strength over weakness. Yesterday evening, the Princess of Wales, from the dark place that is cancer, arrived at her own finest hour.