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It has been two weeks since Kate Middleton shared a recorded video detailing her cancer battle. The video surprised many royal watchers, astonished at the Princess of Wales’ honesty about her health. However, a royal expert says that filming the personal video was no easy feat for the introverted royal.

Kate Middleton stepped out of her comfort zone for a personal video announcement

On March 22, Kate Middleton released a two-minute video detailing her health struggles. Since January, the Princess of Wales has recovered from abdominal surgery.

Looking confident, Kate revealed that cancer was found after the surgery. She revealed she was undergoing a course of preventative chemotherapy.

However, royal expert and biographer Sally Bedell Smith revealed that recording that video took work for the Princess of Wales. She believes Kate drew on strength and courage to get through its taping.

People Magazine writes that Bedell Smith praised Kate for appearing “sincere, dignified, poised, and forthright” in her delivery. She also believed speaking about such a personal matter was challenging for the naturally introverted princess.

Bedell Smith says, “She is inherently shy. And for her to do that took a lot.”

Kate Middleton channeled the late Queen Elizabeth in her cancer reveal

Prince William and Kate Middleton, who are being compared to Queen Elizabeth with reaction to cancer diagnosis, with the queen
Queen Elizabeth II, Prince William, and Kate Middleton | Geoff Pugh/Pool/AFP via Getty Images
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Taking the lead from the late Queen Elizabeth, Kate Middleton showed she could remain calm and composed in a crisis. Sally Bedell Smith said her final words in the video were reminiscent of the late queen.

“When she ended with ‘You are not alone,’ it rang a bell with something that Queen Elizabeth would have said,” Bedell Smith explains. “It was very similar to what Queen Elizabeth said during COVID when she said, ‘We are all in this together.'”

“She was mindful there are very few people who read about that or watched that who doesn’t know someone who has cancer. She was mindful of that,” Bedell Smith explained. “It was a way of reassuring people not only about her condition but helping them have courage.”

The commentator concluded, “There was not a trace of self-pity. She projected honesty. It was the right balance.”

However, Kate Middleton’s cancer video was flagged by a global photo agency

A global photo agency flagged the clip after Kate Middleton had discussed her health in a video shared with Prince William’s Instagram account. This note came on the heels of a photo editing mishap a week prior where the Princess of Wales took the blame for a photoshopped image of herself and her three children,

The Independent reported that global photo agency Getty Images added an editor’s note to the video. It reads, “This handout clip was provided by a third-party organization and may not adhere to Getty Images’ editorial policy.”

Getty told The Independent that flagging the video was standard practice for content handed to it by third-party organizations. The third-party was Kensington Palace.

Kate Middleton recorded the video clip two days before its March 22 release. She continues treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer.