The Princess of Wales has said that she is “getting stronger every day” as she announced she is receiving treatment for cancer.
The announcement comes after weeks of public speculation about her health following her recent stay in hospital for abdominal surgery.
In a video message released on Friday she said that she is “focusing on the things that will help me heal; in my mind, body and spirits”.
The princess is known for being fit, sporty and competitive at team games.
She enjoys playing tennis and is a fan of cold water swimming.
Kate has also been the royal patron of English rugby since 2022.
In an interview last September with former rugby international Mike Tindall, who is married to her husband’s cousin Zara, she said her family were “always active”.
“I suppose as a family we were just very active,” she said.
“And I can always remember being physical, using our bodies, whether it’s walking, climbing the lake district in Scotland… swimming from a young age.
“(My parents) always encouraged us to be physically active and sporty and they always encouraged us into doing team sports and trying things.”
Kate also revealed that she enjoys cold water swimming.
“Cold swimming – the colder, the better. I absolutely love it,” she said.
“Slightly to the point where William’s (saying) ‘You’re crazy’ and it’s dark and it’s raining.
“I will go and seek out cold water. I love it.”
Kate has carefully carved out her charity work since marrying the prince in 2011 and becoming an HRH.
Sharing some festive memories this Christmas because #ShapingUs is all about the vital importance of our early years and the role played by those around us in shaping the rest of our lives.
📸 of The Princess, Christmas 1983
Don’t miss the Together at Christmas Carol Service… pic.twitter.com/YbtYrZIbmt
— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) December 18, 2023
Gradually and patiently developing her role over the years, she has focused on mental health and the early years of childhood, and is known to meticulously research the issues facing the charities she works with.
Family life is also sacrosanct to Kate – mother to 10-year-old George, Charlotte, eight, and five-year-old Louis.
She remains close to her parents Carole and Michael Middleton and siblings Pippa Matthews and James Middleton, and had a happy home life growing up.
Catherine Elizabeth Middleton was born to the Middletons at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading on January 9 1982.
She was christened at the parish church of St Andrew’s Bradfield in Berkshire on June 20 the same year.
Amman in Jordan was home to Kate and her family for a few years in the mid-1980s, where she attended a nursery school from the age of three, before the family returned to Berkshire.
At 13, she went to the exclusive private Marlborough College in Wiltshire, where she part-boarded.
She graduated in 2005 with a 2:1 in history of art from St Andrews University, where she met and began dating William, whom she married at Westminster Abbey in 2011.
She was dubbed “Waity Katie” for her patience during their long courtship, and was described by William in their engagement interview as having “a really naughty sense of humour”.
A keen photographer, the princess usually takes the publicly released photos of her children to mark their birthdays.
Kate was pictured earlier this month with her children in a photograph posted on social media on Mother’s Day, which was said to have been taken by William.
The photograph was later withdrawn with a “Kill” notice by international picture agencies hours later because of suspicions it had been digitally altered.