After a challenging few months for the British royal family – which included King Charles III's cancer diagnosis, Princess Kate missing from the public eye following a surgical procedure and being embroiled in controversy after admitting to editing a family photo – the latest blow landed Friday as the Princess of Wales announced she was diagnosed with cancer.
Though she is "well and getting stronger every day," Princess Kate revealed that "it has taken us time to explain everything" to her and Prince William's three children.
The revelation, which she called "a huge shock," made an impact on Britons and people around the world.
We look back at the biggest events the royal family has experienced over the past century.
On March 22, after Kate's lack of public appearances for nearly two months caused weeks of social media furor, the Princess of Wales appeared in a video shared by Kensington Palace to reveal she had been diagnosed with cancer and was undergoing preventative chemotherapy treatments.
"In January, I underwent major abdominal surgery in London. And at the time, it was thought that my condition was non-cancerous," she said. "The surgery was successful. However, tests after the operation found cancer had been present."
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’m going to be okay."
The princess said she was "well and getting stronger every day by focusing on the things that will help me heal in my mind, body and spirits."
How the online furor unfolded:A timeline of Princess Kate's appearances, photo editing flub
In an announcement that caught the world by surprise, Buckingham Palace on Feb. 5 shared in a statement that during the king's hospital procedure for an enlarged prostate, "a separate issue of concern was noted. Subsequent diagnostic tests have identified a form of cancer."
The previous month, the palace revealed that the monarch would undergo treatment for an enlarged prostate.
On Jan. 17, Kensington Palace announced the Princess of Wales was admitted to a hospital for "planned abdominal surgery" and underwent a "successful" surgery. The statement added, "Based on the current medical advice, she is unlikely to return to public duties until after Easter."
Nearly two weeks later, the 42-year-old royal was discharged and appeared to be "making good progress," the palace said.
At age 74, King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla made their way to Westminster Abbey on May 6, 2023, for the coronation ceremony. After the king recited his coronation oaths, the Archbishop of Canterbury placed the solid gold St. Edward's crown on top of Charles' head
The archbishop also placed Queen Mary's Crown atop Camilla's head.
Biggest moments from the coronation:King Charles and Camilla crowned, Prince Harry joins festivities
Queen Elizabeth II died on Sept. 8, 2022, at 96 years old after 70 years on the throne. She was Britain's longest-reigning monarch.
"The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon," Buckingham Palace announced.
Prince Charles, then 73 years old, immediately became King Charles III upon her death. Wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, became Queen Consort Camilla.
Timeline:Key moments and major events in the life and 70-year reign of Queen Elizabeth II
Harry and Meghan's second child, a daughter named Lilibet 'Lili' Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, was born in Santa Barbara, California, on June 4, 2021.
On April 9, 2021, Queen Elizabeth II's husband of more than 70 years, Prince Philip, died at Windsor Castle.
A few months after taking several weeks away for "much-needed family time," Harry and Meghan announced they would be stepping down from their senior royal roles in a statement released by Buckingham Palace on Jan. 8, 2020.
"We intend to step back as 'senior' members of the Royal Family and work to become financially independent, while continuing to fully support Her Majesty The Queen," the statement said. "We now plan to balance our time between the United Kingdom and North America, continuing to honor our duty to The Queen, the Commonwealth, and our patronages."
On May 6, 2019, Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan, welcomed their first child, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor.
Prince Harry and the Los Angeles-born "Suits" actress Meghan Markle were married at Windsor Castle, becoming the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
With 600 guests in attendance, Prince Charles walked Meghan down the aisle inside St. George's Chapel during a ceremony that featured royal and Anglican traditions while also honoring the background of Meghan, who is biracial, with gospel music and an address that quoted Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Looking back:The 6 biggest moments from Meghan and Harry's wedding
On April 23, 2018, Prince Louis Arthur Charles, William and Kate's third child, was born.
On May 2, 2015, William and Kate's first daughter, Charlotte Elizabeth Diana, was born.
On July 22, 2013, Princess Kate and Prince William welcomed their first child, George Alexander Louis.
During Queen Elizabeth II's reign, Prince George of Wales was third in line to the throne.
On April 29, 2011, seven months after their engagement and a decade after they met while studying at the University of St Andrews, Prince William and Catherine Middleton were married at Westminster Abbey.
Now known as the Prince and Princess of Wales, the couple's former titles were the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and Cambridge.
Prince Charles married Camilla Parker Bowles – controversially a divorcee – seven years after Princess Diana's death. The couple had two wedding ceremonies that took place at Windsor Castle.
The two were romantically involved during their respective marriages, leading many Britons to blame Parker Bowles for Charles and Diana's marriage.
Queen Elizabeth, born Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon and known as the queen mother after King George VI's death, died on March 30, 2002.
King George VI and Queen Elizabeth's second daughter (and Queen Elizabeth II's younger sister), Princess Margaret, died Feb. 9, 2002, after suffering a stroke.
She is survived by her two children, whom she shares with Antony Armstrong-Jones, David Armstrong-Jones, 62, and Lady Sarah Chatto, 59.
In the early morning hours of Aug. 31, 1997, a car that Princess Diana and her boyfriend, Egyptian filmmaker Dodi Al-Fayed were traveling in with her bodyguard, Trevor Rees-Jones, crashed into another vehicle and a pillar inside Paris' Pont de l'Alma tunnel.
Fayed and Henri Paul, the driver – who was found to be intoxicated at the time of the accident – died at the scene, while the princess of Wales died from her injuries several hours later in a hospital.
At the time of her death, Prince William was 15 years old and Prince Harry was 12.
Princess Diana's life and legacy:A look back at her life and death
Four years after they separated in 1992, the royal couple officially divorced in 1996. During the beloved couple's 15-year marriage, they experienced marital problems – including infidelity on both sides – that became fodder for the British tabloids.
On Sept. 15, 1984, Charles and Diana's second son, Henry Charles Albert David, was born.
On June 21, 1982, Prince Charles and Princess Diana welcomed their first child, William Arthur Philip Louis.
Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer married on July 29, 1981, when Charles was 32 and Diana was 20.
The fairytale wedding took place in London's St Paul's Cathedral and was televised to an audience of 750 million people around the globe, according to the BBC.
The couple went on to become the Prince and Princess of Wales.
Elizabeth was officially crowned Queen Elizabeth II during her coronation in Westminster Abbey on June 2, 1953. For the first time in history, the event was globally televised to millions of viewers.
She took an oath to "maintain and preserve inviolably the settlement of the Church of England, and the doctrine worship, discipline, and government thereof, as the law established in England."
After months of declining health following surgery to treat "structural abnormalities" in his left lung, King George VI died at age 56 on Feb. 6, 1952. His death made his older daughter, Princess Elizabeth, the de facto monarch of the United Kingdom and the British Commonwealth.
At this time, 25-year-old Elizabeth was in Kenya with Prince Philip on a months-long tour of the Commonwealth.
On Nov. 14, 1948, Charles Philip Arthur George – Princess Elizabeth's first child with Prince Philip – was born in Buckingham Palace.
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