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Kate's most personal video yet shows never before seen affection and what really matters to her

9 September 2024, 17:58 | Updated: 10 September 2024, 06:23

It is the most personal of videos.

The Princess of Wales welcoming us into what is usually the family's private sanctuary, filmed near their home in Norfolk to share with us another important moment for her and her family.

Her chemotherapy treatment is finished and through the video you can feel the sense of relief.

But set against the relaxed pictures of them running through the woods, playing cards with the children, or laying on the beach, there is a serious message about the personal toll this has all taken on her and the rest of the family.

Like anyone going through a traumatic health scare you get the sense the past nine months have made her re-evaluate what really matters.

We've always known that against the pressures to perform their royal duties, and live the most public of lives, they've always tried to put the children first.

Through this video you can tell her illness has only made her conviction to do that even stronger.

As it happened:
Kate reveals chemotherapy treatment is over

And she and William are united in that. Never before have we seen such an affectionate video of the couple, cuddling into each other and William kissing her cheek.

If we were in any doubt about how much this has affected her physically and mentally, her message about returning to work makes it clear.

While she will be working from home, there will only be a handful of public appearances for the rest of 2024.

But remember even through this message she is using her platform to try to make a difference, to increase public understanding of what a cancer diagnosis can mean.

Like the King, you get the sense she feels she owes it to all those who have written to her sharing their stories to continue to share her experiences, too.

Her decision to tell us now isn't entirely unexpected.

Read more:
Kate's cancer update in full
King marks second anniversary of late Queen's death
Kate says it took time to explain diagnosis to her children
How the King has 'got his mojo back'

With William and other members of the Royal Family returning to work last week, it was inevitable that questions would start to be asked about when we may see the princess.

They will be desperate to avoid the speculation that raged about her health in the first half of the year, a dark time for all of them.

That first video in March confirming her diagnosis was a brave move, but one that very quickly made the media trolls back off.

By allowing a camera in now and briefly welcoming us into this side of their lives, she is showing us how precious family time is to them both.

But she is also making a more subtle request - that they still need their privacy and want that to be respected as, in some ways, her recovery is only really beginning.