Queen's ex-press secretary says Kate Middleton's 'brave, powerful and ... trends now
Princess Kate has been praised by the late Queen Elizabeth's ex-press secretary for being 'word perfect' in her 'brave, powerful and dignified' message revealing her cancer diagnosis.
Simon Lewis hailed the Princess of Wales for being 'enormously authentic' in the video she recorded revealing the shock news about her health - and suggested 'a lot of work went into what she wanted to say'.
Kate told of receiving treatment for cancer in footage filmed last Wednesday at Windsor and released online on Friday evening.
Messages of goodwill for the princess have flooded in from across the world, from political leaders, celebrities and members of the public.
Prince Harry and Meghan have also both contacted his brother William and Kate after finding out the princess has been having treatment for cancer.
Kate revealed in a video message on Friday evening that she has been diagnosed with cancer
The Queen's former communications secretary Simon Lewis has praised the Princess of Wales
Kate is now on what has been described as a 'recovery pathway' having commenced a course of chemotherapy in late February.
A friend has said she wrote her cancer battle message 'by herself, very quickly'.
And Mr Lewis, who handled press for William's grandmother Elizabeth II in 1988 and was later a Downing Street director of communications for then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown, welcomed the way she delivered the news of her diagnosis.
He told Times Radio: 'I think it is unprecedented - I can't think of another occasion where a member of the royal family has spoken about their health on camera.
'So, yes, it's broken new ground and it looked to me as though she was word perfect, the princess.
'A lot of preparation must have gone into what she wanted to say, which I think came across enormously authentically which is the critical thing about a piece of communication like this - people simply have to believe it.
'The Princess of Wales is probably one of the most famous people in the world and the pressure on the princess at this time and her advisors to get it right was enormous - and they did.
'As I've been going about today, the huge amount of support and sympathy for the princess is just palpable and I'm sure the statement has been a significant part of it.
'There's obviously huge support for her but this, I think, will make a real difference to the way people can see this crucial point about the privacy, the privacy of everyone including members of the royal family.'
The Prince and Princess of Wales, pictured here at Fitzalan High School in Cardiff last October, have thanked the public for their support following news of her cancer treatment
Kate and her family attended church in Sandringham, Norfolk, on Christmas Day last year
She told in Friday's video message how she was now on a 'recovery pathway'
The cancer diagnosis has been revealed as the reason that William pulled out of a memorial service for the late King Constantine of Greece on February 27.
Kate spent a fortnight at the London Clinic after being admitted on January 16 for abdominal surgery.
King Charles and Queen Camilla visited her ward on January 26 before Charles himself underwent an operation for a benign prostate cancer condition - and was
