{"id":7620,"date":"2024-03-23T12:26:06","date_gmt":"2024-03-23T12:26:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/03\/23\/just-a-human-londoners-offer-sympathy-on-princesss-cancer-diagnosis\/"},"modified":"2024-03-23T12:26:06","modified_gmt":"2024-03-23T12:26:06","slug":"just-a-human-londoners-offer-sympathy-on-princesss-cancer-diagnosis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/03\/23\/just-a-human-londoners-offer-sympathy-on-princesss-cancer-diagnosis\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Just a Human\u2019: Londoners Offer Sympathy on Princess\u2019s Cancer Diagnosis"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1050\" height=\"549\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/03\/23\/multimedia\/23london-mood-1-qvzw\/23london-mood-1-qvzw-facebookJumbo.jpg?resize=1050,549&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"\u2018Just a Human\u2019: Londoners Offer Sympathy on Princess\u2019s Cancer Diagnosis\" title=\"\u2018Just a Human\u2019: Londoners Offer Sympathy on Princess\u2019s Cancer Diagnosis\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The morning after Britain finally got some answers about what had kept Catherine, Princess of Wales, away from public view \u2014 <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/live\/2024\/03\/22\/world\/princess-kate-middleton-cancer#princess-kate-middleton-cancer\" title=\"\">that she is receiving treatment for cancer<\/a> \u2014 the handful of news cameras set up on Saturday outside Kensington Palace were the only suggestion that anything was amiss.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The sun shone as Londoners went out for their morning runs in the surrounding park, children biked under budding trees and tourists waited for the palace, where Catherine and her family live, to open the doors of its public areas to visitors.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">As news of her illness filtered out after weeks of speculation and suspicion, many expressed their shock and their concern for a well-liked member of the British royal family who is in line to one day be queen. Many also seemed to want to throw a protective arm around a woman whose every move has been scrutinized in her <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2011\/04\/30\/world\/europe\/30britain.html\" title=\"\">marriage to Prince William<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cI just hope for the best for her,\u201d said Helen Mercer, 68, who was reading a book on a bench near the palace.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Ms. Mercer, who was born in Canada but lives in London, said she had grown up with admiration for the royal family. Both of her parents are British, and she said that while her daughter had told her it was not \u201ccool\u201d to be a royalist, she had a fondness for the House of Windsor.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThey\u2019ve always just sort of been there,\u201d she said, but added that she felt the wild speculation about Catherine had been sickening. \u201cI do wonder what all those people that hopped on that bandwagon are feeling now,\u201d she said. \u201cI hope they feel terrible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The palace had urged the public and the news media to respect Catherine\u2019s privacy as she recovered from a major abdominal surgery in January. But as the days drew into weeks, the rumor mill swirled \u2014 with conspiracy theories growing deeper and wilder \u2014 about what was keeping such a prominent member of the royal family out of view.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In a video statement on Friday evening, Catherine, 42, announced that she had been diagnosed with cancer, but did not specify the type and said that her focus now would be on her recovery and her family.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cYour heart goes out to William,\u201d Ms. Mercer said on Saturday. \u201cWith his father and his wife both being diagnosed with cancer, it\u2019s just so hard.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">On Friday evening, others also lamented the spotlight Catherine had fallen under in recent weeks.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cShe is still just a human,\u201d Aaron Viera, 33, a lifelong Londoner, said as he shared a drink with friends outside the Goat Tavern, steps from Kensington Palace. \u201cIt\u2019s just really sad that she has to go through this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">One of the friends, Maryann, 35, posited that much of the recent frenzy around the princess had been driven by an American \u201cobsession\u201d with Britain\u2019s royals, which had put a huge amount of international attention on her absence from public duties.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">While the royals have long been fodder for Britain\u2019s tabloid press, the family is also viewed as a part of the country\u2019s identity, and many British papers have shown some level of restraint when it came to outright speculation about Catherine and the king\u2019s recent health woes. But <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/03\/12\/world\/europe\/princess-kate-middleton-royals-photo.html\" title=\"\">conspiracy theories and rumors swirled online,<\/a> driven in part by an obsession with the family\u2019s celebrity.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">That speculation drew attention even in places where talk of the British royal family is not the norm. Christiane Lehmanh, 33, who was feeding the ducks at the pond in front of Kensington Palace with a friend on Saturday, said that even in Germany, where she is from, the princess\u2019s health had been big news.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cI was devastated to hear that she was sick, and I wish her well,\u201d Ms. Lehmanh said, describing how hearing that anyone so young was being treated for a serious illness was terrible. \u201cBut also, life goes on.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Concern for Catherine\u2019s well-being was the overwhelming sentiment as the news filtered out in alerts on smartphones, in clips of the video on social media and by word of mouth.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">And many in London seemed to take a protective stance around the country\u2019s future queen. Two older women who had just come from the theater on Friday evening said they thought the criticism of Catherine after it was revealed this month that she had <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/03\/11\/world\/europe\/princess-kate-middleton-photo-edit-apology.html\" title=\"\">altered a publicly released photo of herself and her three children<\/a> had spun out of proportion.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In her announcement on Friday, Catherine also expressed empathy for those whose lives have been affected by cancer.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cFor everyone facing this disease, in whatever form, please do not lose faith or hope,\u201d she said in the video address. \u201cYou are not alone.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Her candor in her remarks about her own diagnosis had made her more relatable, many said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cEveryone knows someone who\u2019s gone through this or has someone in their family who has had cancer,\u201d Ms. Mercer said. \u201cSo, yes, I think people can understand.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Cancer specialists in Britain as well as charities that support people diagnosed with cancer and their families expressed their support for Catherine and reminded the public that her experience with the disease was one that played out every day in families across the country.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The Macmillan Cancer Support charity said on social media that it was \u201csending our best wishes to Her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cWe hear from people all over the country, every day going through the experience the Princess has described, and our thoughts are also with His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales and their children,\u201d the charity said. \u201cMany families will be sending solidarity to them.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The morning after Britain finally got some answers about what had kept Catherine, Princess of Wales, away from public view \u2014 that she is receiving treatment for cancer \u2014 the handful of news cameras set up on Saturday outside Kensington Palace were the only suggestion that anything was amiss. The sun shone as Londoners went [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7621,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/03\/23\/multimedia\/23london-mood-1-qvzw\/23london-mood-1-qvzw-facebookJumbo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[281,282,4261,7199,3626,11648,11647],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7620"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7620"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7620\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7622,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7620\/revisions\/7622"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7621"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7620"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7620"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7620"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}