PRINCESS Kate decided to make her emotional statement two weeks ago â but only released it on Friday to protect her children.
The Princess of Wales, 42, revealed her health battle to the world in a touching video in which she vowed she was âgoing to be OKâ.
It is understood Kate âwrote every wordâ herself in the highly personal address.
Sun editor Victoria Newton said the âkey thingâ for Kate was making the news was shared at the right time for Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
The children had already broken up from school and were with their parents for Easter when video was released at 6pm on Friday.
Victoria told BBC1âs Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg: âIt was actually, I understand, that the Princess made the decision two weeks ago that she was going to do this public statement.
âThe key thing for her as a mother, the priority was protecting those three children.
âShe didnât want them going to school, being asked even more than they already were.
King 'frustrated' at recovery taking 'longer than he would want it to'
The Kingâs nephew Peter Phillips has said Charles is âfrustratedâ that his recovery is taking longer than âhe would want it toâ.
The son of the Princess Royal said the King was âin good spiritsâ, but was âpushingâ his staff to be able to return to his duties after beginning treatment for cancer last month.
In a televised interview, Mr Phillips told Sky News Australia: âI think ultimately heâs hugely frustrated.
âHeâs frustrated that he canât get on and do everything that he wants to be able to do.
âBut he is very pragmatic, he understands that thereâs a period of time that he really needs to focus on himself.
âBut at the same time he is always pushing his staff and everybody â his doctors and nurses â to be able to say âactually can I do this, can I do that?'â
Charles has been receiving treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer since early February after he was treated for an enlarged prostate and on Friday the Princess of Wales revealed she was undergoing preventative chemotherapy for cancer.
Mr Phillips added: âI think the overriding message would be that heâs obviously very keen to get back to a form of normality and is probably frustrated that recovery is taking a little longer than probably he would want it to.â
The son of Anne, 73, and her first husband Captain Mark Phillips, said during the interview on Australian television that his mother âleaves others to worry about column inchesâ.
Mr Phillips said: âI think in the past she has not always been the mediaâs favourite so to speak. But sheâs never really let that bother her.
âShe just keeps her head down the whole time and keeps working away and leaves others to worry about column inches.â
The eldest grandchild of Queen Elizabeth II added that it was âpretty remarkableâ that his mother was still carrying out overseas trips in her 70s.
Mr Phillips said the âwork ethicâ of his parents had been hugely influential for him and his sister Zara Tindall.
He added: âBoth of them are incredibly hard working and both in their 70s theyâre still working a lot harder than either of them probably expected.
âBut then as my mother always says â from that perspective, they had pretty good role models from my grandparents who were still working in their 90s.
âSo everyone has a huge amount to live up to and ultimately they all live by example.â
He added that Anne âreally valuedâ her home time to be able âto relax and just get to some form of normalityâ.
Mr Phillips was on a visit to Australia to represent the International Foundation for Arts and Culture.
He said the royal family had a âhuge affinityâ with Australia, adding âall of us have friends over hereâ.
âThey were already being affected at school, so it was always her plan that she would wait until the last day of term.
âObviously theyâve endured an incredible amount of social media speculation which has been really hard for them to handle, but the priority for her was always those children.â
In the moving video, Kate she said the discovery was a âhuge shockâ but vowed she was âgoing to be OKâ as she underwent rounds of preventative chemotherapy.
Kate had decided to release the video two weeks ago and wrote every word of the statement herself, it is understood.
On Thursday, Kate met the King, 75, for a heart-to-heart at Windsor Caslte, where it is understood she told him about her speech.
Charles has rallied around his âbelovedâ daughter-in-law during her ordeal as someone who can understand what sheâs going through.
A close friend to the Princess has since told The Times Kate pulled the moving words together herself.
They said: âIt allowed her to speak directly to the public who, overwhelmingly, have always been with her and her family and who donât buy into the noise and gossip.
âIt was all her, she wrote every word of it, it came together very quickly.â
On Wednesday, when the video was filmed Wills was attending a royal engagement.
He made a private visit to the Welsh Guards at the Combermere Barracks near Windsor.
INGRID SEWARD: Prince William is a pillar of strength for Kate
STEADFAST when his family needed him, William has proved himself as a man and future monarch of strength and compassion.
While he might not have been present during Kateâs courageous video address on Friday â make no mistake, he has been by her side every step of the way.
William has stepped up with school run duties and provided a âgreat source of comfort and reassuranceâ to his wife.
But he has also been a comforting and reassuring presence for the public.
From leading members of the Royal Family at the Commonwealth Day Service to enjoying cheerful banter with youngsters on a youth centre visit, he hasnât put a foot wrong.
Just this week he visited Sheffield to highlight his Homewards project to end homelessness in the UK.
Even then there were few chinks in his facade â but Kate was clearly on his mind.
âShe needs to be sat here to hear this,â he smiled, when the discussion turned to the challenges of young families.
But ultimately he is only human.
To have your father and your wife diagnosed with cancer within such quick succession is heart-shattering.
Itâs a remarkable insight into the character of this young man that he has been so incredibly brave.
Theirs is a very private turmoil which has been brought into the public arena by nature of their roles as future King and Queen.
William must feel the weight of enormous responsibility, both personally and for the monarchy, of which he is now the public face.
But he knows his most important role is that of dad and husband.
He will make that his priority.
This is a distinct difference from the ways of the past, where your royal role came before the role of spouse and parent.
Think back to when the Queen was young.
WILLSâ PRIORITY
It was a manâs world then â and she was forced to abandon her children in a way that William is determined not to.
William and Kate waited until the school term was over and their children were home before making their public announcement.
They needed to be prepared.
In this, they will have had the wholehearted support of Charles â who knows what it feels like to be brought up by nannies.
William was also acutely aware of the lack of his own fatherâs presence in his life, especially when things went wrong.
In 1991, he was accidentally hit over the head with a golf club when he was at school and Diana was having lunch in her favourite restaurant San Lorenzo.
The call came through that William had been bashed on the head and they thought he might die so it was very serious.
Both Charles and Diana rushed down to Ludgrove.
William was taken to the Royal Berkshire Hospital and then to Great Ormond Street Hospital and Diana went with him.
But ever a man of duty, Charles prioritised his engagements.
William is determined to do things differently.
The day after, the King travelled to visit Kate who was keen to speak to him about his struggle and find out how he was coping.
A source said of the Windsor Castle get-together: âIt is highly unusual for just the two of them to sit down together like this.
âThe King had already been made aware that the woman he calls âmy beloved daughter-in-lawâ had cancer.
âThey would have had lots to discuss and share because just weeks earlier the King had begun his course of treatment and dealt with announcing his diagnosis.
âThe King left his lunch feeling very emotional.
âThey are very close and he thinks of Catherine as his daughter.
âThere is no doubt there is a lot they can share and can use each other for support during their own deeply personal cancer battles.â
It is understood Charles had been made aware of Kateâs cancer struggle before he travelled from London for the lunch.
Doting husband Prince William has been by her side throughout â taking a step back from his royal duties and pulling out of engagements last minute.
Queen Camilla is also said to be a pillar of support and in regular contact with Kate.
Camilla has been Charlesâ ârockâ following his diagnosis and wants to be as supportive for Kate.
The Queen has continued to carry out all of her royal duties and attended many events by herself after urging Charles to slow down.
Well-wishers on Saturday began leaving flowers at Windsor Castle for Kate.
She was admitted to hospital for abdominal surgery on January 16 but it was not known then there was any cancer.
She remained in hospital for 13 nights. Kensington Palace urged the world not to speculate and said she would be off work until April.
It has now emerged although the operation was ânon-cancerousâ subsequent tests found cancer was present.
Timeline of Kate's health battle & recovery
JANUARY 16: Kate is admitted to the London Clinic for abdominal surgery
JAN 17: Kensington Palace announce the princess underwent surgery
JAN 18: William spends time at Kateâs bedside
JAN 23: The princessâ hospital stay passes one week
JAN 29: Kate leaves hospital
FEBRUARY 27:Â Prince William pulls out of service last-minute due to âpersonal matterâ, sparking wave of unfounded conspiracy theories about Kateâs health
MARCH 4:Â Princess pictured in the car with mum Carole on the Windsor estate
Mar 10: Royal posts a sweet snap of her and the kids for Motherâs Day â then fans started spotting flaws, and massive agencies put out âkill noticeâ on photo
Mar 11:Â Kate admits she edited photo, and is snapped in car with William
Mar 16:Â Royal fans spot the princess at farm shop near Windsor
Mar 17:Â Onlookers see Kate watching her youngsters playing sport
Mar 18:Â The Sun exclusively published video of Kate and Wills from two days prior
MARCH 22:Â Kate bravely reveals in an emotional video that she was given a shock cancer diagnosis
In her own words, Kate revealed she took time to recover from the operation before starting a round of preventative chemotherapy.
The cancer treatment began at the end of February and was the reason William pulled out of a thanksgiving service around that time, citing a âpersonal matterâ.
Kateâs disappearance from public view sparked vile and sickening abuse online and provoked wild and unfounded conspiracy theories.
The Sun exclusively revealed on Monday the Prince and Princess of Wales had been shopping at Windsor Farm Shop last weekend and watched their children play sport.
Our video footage published 24 hours later, and shared around the world, showed Kate looking ârelaxed and happyâ.
Kate then filmed her personal message sitting on a bench in gardens at Windsor on Wednesday.
The video was released on Friday evening with Kate telling the world she was âgetting stronger every dayâ, and had told her children âI will get betterâ.
After Charles announced on February 5 that he had cancer, Kensington Palace revealed Kate and Wills were in regular contact with the King.
Speaking to PM Rishi Sunak when they met last month, Charles said: âIâve had so many wonderful messages and cards, itâs reduced me to tears most of the time.â
The King has spent most of his weekdays at Windsor Castle but has regularly gone to London to carry out official royal duties at Buckingham Palace.
KINGâS REST
He left Windsor Castle at 11am on Friday to rest for the weekend at his Highgrove House residence in Gloucestershire.
The Queen has been filling in at major engagements including a visit to Northern Ireland last week.
While there she told well-wishers her husband is âdoing very wellâ and âvery disappointed he couldnât comeâ, for what was originally intended to be a joint visit.
Meanwhile Kate has been recuperating at Adelaide Cottage, Windsor, with William, 41, and their children.
They will not attend the family Easter Sunday service which is expected to be held at St Georgeâs Chapel at Windsor Castle.
It is understood the King is hoping to lead the family to the ceremony at Easter.
The Queen, 76, is also hoping to join her husband for the service which is expected to be a scaled-down affair with only a handful of royals attending.
Harry and Meghanâs âcheerleaderâ targets Kate Middleton moments after cancer diagnosis
BY Scarlet Howes and Thomas Godfrey
Prince Harry and Meghan Markleâs Netflix âcheerleaderâ targeted Kate Middleton moments after her cancer diagnosis shocked the world.
Christopher Bouzy, who had a starring role in Harry and Meghanâs Netflix show, trolled Kate on X/Twitter 31 minutes after her video was released.
The tech mogul, 48, said Kateâs illness was stage-managed akin to âNorth Korean propagandaâ.
Bouzy, who has been peddling a conspiracy that William and Kate are breaking up, later joined an online meeting of 300 Harry and Meghan supporters.
One participant even questioned whether the Princessâs cancer diagnosis was legitimate.
Another claimed the diagnosis gave Kate a âfree passâ from answering questions about her photoshop edits to a Motherâs Day image.
Another pal of the Sussexes, Omid Scobie, deleted a tasteless post on Friday showing an alarm clock set for 6pm â the time Kate made her cancer statement.
It sparked huge speculation as to what was to be announced.
The Endgame author, 42, later deleted the post after users criticised him.
He said: âWhen there was word circulating that an announcement was coming from the Palace at 6pm I tweeted an image of the time for followers to keep an eye out.
âWhen I learned how serious the news ended up being I removed the tweet to stop any speculation.â
Meanwhile, it was reported in the New York Post that Harry and Meghan made âprivate contactâ with William and Kate after being âblindsidedâ by the news.
It is claimed that Harry and Meghan only learned about Kateâs cancer diagnosis from her video statement â the same time as the rest of the world.
A source said: âThey had no idea.This goes to show the irreparable damage they have caused.
âThe trust has been broken and the Royal Family is OK distancing themselves from them.â
She stood in for Charles and William at a service of thanksgiving for the life of King Constantine II of Greece at the chapel in February.
Kate and William have now pleaded for privacy as they spend time together during their childrenâs school holidays.
Kateâs statement on Friday was issued to coincide with all three children finishing school term.
They are due back at Lambrook School, Berkshire, on April 17 and William will not return to work until then.
After Kateâs cancer statement, Buckingham Palace said: âHis Majesty is so proud of Catherine for her courage in speaking as she did.
âFollowing their time in hospital together, His Majesty has remained in the closest contact with his beloved daughter-in-law throughout the past weeks.
âBoth Their Majesties will Âcontinue to offer their love and support to the whole family through this difficult time.â
