To share the happy news Monday that she has completed her cancer treatment and is ready to resume royal duties, Catherine, the Princess of Wales — and her palace aides — turned to a London-based filmmaker to produce a video that was full of movie-like moments and uplifting images in nature that seemed designed to present a casual and surprisingly intimate view of her, Prince William and their family.
Notably, Catherine does a lot of physical touching in the video, including of William, as if to emphasize her statement that the “complex, scary and unpredictable” cancer journey she and her family have been on has reminded her and her husband to “reflect and be grateful for the simple yet important things in life … of simply loving and being loved.”
Before and after Catherine says her line, “loving and being loved,” she is seen giving her children lots of hugs as the family of five enjoys walks in the forest or a picnic near the beach, presumably near their country estate in Norfolk, England. What may be most surprising to royal watchers is the physical affection that Catherine and William show for each other, given that the couple are never seen holding hands or touching during royal engagements.
At one point, the future queen and king of England lie next to each other on a blanket in the sand. In other moments, they cuddle with their hands wrapped around each other or on each other’s legs, or she rests her head on his shoulder. The video is mostly shot in a gauzy light and, in some parts, it has the quality of an old home movie. It was created by Will Warr, a filmmaker who is known for his work in advertising and for making wedding videos, according to the Daily Mail and the New York Times.
“As the summer comes to an end, I cannot tell you what a relief it is to have finally completed my chemotherapy treatment,” Kate begins the voice-over for the video.
“The last nine months have been incredibly tough for us as a family,” Catherine continues. “Life as you know it can change in an instant and we have had to find a way to navigate the stormy waters and road unknown.”
To the public, Catherine’s health journey began back in January, when Kensington Palace announced that she had undergone “major abdominal surgery” for an unknown condition and would be hospitalized for up to two weeks. In March, she revealed that the surgery had discovered cancer and that she was undergoing chemotherapy to treat it.
On one hand, the video “lifts a cloud” from the British royal family after “an anguished period” in which both she and her father-in-law, King Charles III, had both been stricken with cancer, the New York Times said. But on the other hand, the video leaves many questions unanswered. She and Kensington Palace have never revealed what type of cancer she had or how far it had progressed, citing respect for her medical privacy. Kensington Palace also has not itself said that Catherine is cancer free.
But the video is clearly meant to offer the British public an update on Catherine’s condition and to offer hope that she is doing well, given that she is often seen as as one of the monarchy’s most valuable assets.
“Doing what I can to stay cancer-free is now my focus,” Catherine says in the video, offering some measure of caution about her health. “Although I have finished chemotherapy, my path to healing and full recovery is long and I must continue to take each day as it comes.”
Early in the video, the princess is literally shown to be in the driver’s seat, both of the narrative — and of the manually-operated SUV that the family rides in as they head out for their country ramble.
“With humility, (the cancer diagnosis) also brings you face to face with your own vulnerabilities in a way you have never considered before, and with that, a new perspective on everything,” Catherine continues.
Throughout the video, there also are quick cuts to images of leaves, ferns and the princess walking alone in the forest or standing by a tree that looks like an oak, gazing up at the sky. Dressed in a simple, peasant-style cotton dress and trainers, she also is seen enjoying the feel of wind in her hair or the touch of curious looking pebbles or twigs she finds in her path and picks up.
And, in a somewhat cliched moment, the camera follows Catherine from behind, as she walks through a meadow of tall grass, with her left hand brushing the tops of the grass. The scene is reminiscent of others in countless movies or commercials, notably in “Gladiator” when Russell Crowe’s Maximus contemplates his destiny while passing his hand through a field of wheat.
The video wraps up with Catherine letting viewers know that she’ll resume royal duties in the coming months, though she explains that they may be limited by saying that she’ll be undertaking “a few” when she can.
“I enter this new phase of recovery with a renewed sense of hope and appreciation of life,” Catherine said, concluding the video by reaching out to others who also are living with a cancer diagnosis.
“To all those who are continuing their own cancer journey – I remain with you, side by side, hand in hand,” she says. “Out of darkness, can come light so let that light shine bright.”