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Prince William and Princess Kate Middleton have a lot to be thankful for this holiday season! The royals released their annual Christmas card on social media, and the photo was taken during her chemotherapy treatments over the summer.
“Wishing everyone a very happy Christmas,” the official family account on X wrote alongside the image shared on Thursday, December 19.
In the picture, Kate and William, both 42, posed with their three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. The family were all in the same clothes seen in the video that Buckingham Palace officials shared when Kate announced she had finished her chemotherapy treatment on September 9.
The release of the Christmas card came on the same day it was announced that William and Kate would not be attending King Charles III’s annual Christmas lunch. Every year, Charles, 76, hosts an intimate luncheon at Buckingham Palace just before the family travels to Sandringham to celebrate the holiday. The tradition was started by Charles’ mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II. However, Kate and William will already be at Anmer Hall, their country home in Norfolk, England, and the house is on the Sandringham estate.
The royal family has had a tough year with both Kate and Charles being diagnosed with cancer. After months of speculation due to her absence from the public eye, Kate revealed she had been diagnosed with cancer on March 22.
“In January, I underwent major abdominal surgery in London and at the time, it was thought that my condition was non-cancerous. The surgery was successful. However, tests after the operation found cancer had been present. 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,” the princess said in an emotional video.
She continued, “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.”
Kate made her first public appearance after beginning treatment when she attended Trooping the Colour on June 14. She and her family were all smiles at the royal event, and the following month she attended Wimbledon’s men’s finals with Charlotte, 9.
Shortly before the summer ended, Kate revealed that she had completed her chemotherapy treatment in a video message that featured clips of her and her family enjoying the outdoors.
“Despite all that has gone before, I enter this new phase of recovery with a renewed sense of hope and appreciation of life,” Kate said in part. “William and I are so grateful for the support we have received and have drawn great strength from all those who are helping us at this time.”
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