'Enormously Touched and Grateful': Prince William and Princess Kate Respond to Public After Future Queen's Cancer Reveal

Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales, thanked the public for their messages of "well wishes" pouring in after Her Royal Highness' revelation that she has cancer. The future king and queen said they were "grateful" for the support they are receiving after Kate's "heartbreaking" video dominated news headlines on Friday, March 22.

A statement from Kensington Palace read: "The Prince and Princess are both enormously touched by the kind messages from people here in the U.K., across the Commonwealth, and around the world in response to Her Royal Highness' message. They are extremely moved by the public's warmth and support and are grateful for the understanding of their request for privacy at this time."

The message comes after the "gut punch" of the video has left many in shock. This followed weeks of a social media trend known as both "#WheresKate?" and "#KateGate," which was filled to the brim with "ludicrous conspiracy theories" following the princess' abdominal surgery on January 16, and an edited Mother's Day photo on March 10.

It is now unknown when the future queen will resume public royal duties. HRH was originally scheduled to come back to the public side of the monarchy "after Easter," but a palace insider now says her return will likely be "around September." The Princess of Wales is undergoing preventative chemotherapy treatments for an undisclosed type of cancer.

This follows a pointed reply to Kate's news from a royal source who shared: "Are you satisfied now? She bent to your will and announced a deeply personal struggle just to quiet the schoolyard gossip about her."

The insider then observed: "I wonder how Stephen Colbert feels today."

The late-night comedian and host of The Late Show fell under fire recently for engaging in popular Kate conspiracy theories on air. The host mentioned Prince William and his alleged affair with Lady Rose Hanbury. Colbert is an admitted anti-royalist who once called the royal family "inbred."

"Internet sleuths are guessing that Kate's absence may be related to her husband and future King William having an affair," Colbert shared. "I think we all know who the alleged other woman is — say it with me, 'the Marchioness of Cholmondeley.'"

Colbert continued: "Now, there have been rumors [of] an affair between William and the Marching Band of Chicanery since 2019," the host laughingly added while poking fun at her title. "According to tabloids back then, when Kate supposedly confronted him about it, he laughed it off saying there was nothing to it. Always a good response when your wife accuses you of cheating."

He then joked: "Ha ha, imagine me having an affair!" he exclaimed in a mocking British accent. "It is to laugh."

Herald Sun reported on William and Kate's statement.