Prince William’s heartbreaking response to Kate Middleton’s cancer diagnosis revealed by aide
As Prince William wrestled with the problem of to to tell his children about their mother’s shock diagnosis, there was an extra torment that plunged him into deep despair
Prince William (Image: WPA Pool, Getty Images)
A former royal aide who worked closely with Prince William has revealed behind-the scenes details of the “absolutely awful” week when both the King and Catherine, Princess of Wales were both hit with shock cancer diagnoses.
Jason Knauf said that the grim news was bad enough, but that some members of the public had added to the prince’s despair with groundless speculation.
Knauf, who was a press secretary for William and Kate before moving on to become chief executive of the Prince and Princess of Wales’ Royal Foundation, explained that at that point William and Kate hadn’t found a way of telling their children about what was going on.
As the royal couple deliberated about the best way to share the upsetting news with George, Charlotte and Louis, some people on social media took it upon themselves to dream up wild theories about Kate’s disappearance from public life.
Having grown up in the spotlight himself, William was anxious to shield his children as much as possible, Knauf said: “His childhood in front of the media was quite difficult at times, and he knew that he was going to be raising his kids to deal with social media and mobile phones and all of that stuff.”
It was against this background that Prince William struggled with the “absolutely awful” news and the cruel speculation from online royal obsessives.
Knauf also shared a few lighter moments from William and Kate’s home life, including some details about the Prince of Wales’s much-discussed beard.
The prince himself quickly shut down any questions about his facial hair but, Knauf says, it’s clear that the Princess of Wales has given the beard her personal seal of approval: “If she didn’t like it, it wouldn’t be there. I could tell you that!” he said.
