Prince William and Princess Kate Middleton are stronger than ever amid a turbulent time for the royal family, according to his cousin Peter Phillips.
“Her and William make a fantastic team together,” Phillips, 46, shared in an interview with Sky News Australia published on Monday, March 25. “Their kids are great, and they have the balance of public life and trying to be parents to three young children, which is always difficult.”
Balancing their work and home lives is something Phillips said the couple have got “pretty right,” explaining, “I think, as history has taught us, and anyone knows, you actually want to be there for your children when they’re of a certain age. You want to be able to go drop them off at school and pick them up from school and go and watch matches and be a part of their school lives. And I think that balance of doing the family life and also the public life, I think they’ve pretty much got that, bang on.”
Phillips went on to note that spending time with the whole royal family was “so important” in the years leading up to Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip’s deaths in September 2022 and April 2021, respectively.
“It just strengthens that bond of support that everybody needs,” Phillips added. “And certainly, in tough times, it’s really important.”
Praise of the royal couple comes after Kate, 42, revealed on Friday, March 22, that she was diagnosed with cancer following her “major” abdominal surgery. “My medical team therefore advised that I should undergo a course of preventative chemotherapy, and I’m now in the early stages of that treatment,” she explained.
In her video, Kate said that she and William, 41, were “doing everything we can to process and manage this privately for the sake of our young family,” referring to kids Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, 5. “It has taken us time to explain everything to George, Charlotte and Louis in a way that is appropriate for them and to reassure them that I’m going to be OK,” she added.
Ahead of her announcement, Kate had not attended a public event since December 2023. Kensington Palace previously revealed that she would likely not return to work until after Easter while recovering from her surgery. A source exclusively told Us Weekly on Friday that Kate and William “wanted to wait to tell the world” about her diagnosis “until their children were off school for the Easter break so they could have time to process the news before the whole world was talking about [it].”
Along with Kate, King Charles III was diagnosed with an unspecified form of cancer after he underwent a prostate procedure in January. He has since returned to royal duties, but Buckingham Palace confirmed in a statement to Us on Friday that Kate will continue her leave of absence until she is “cleared” to make public appearances.
William “will continue to balance supporting his wife and family and maintaining his official duties as he has done since the start of the year,” the statement continued.
While speaking about the royal family, Phillips told Sky News Australia that “the outpouring of support for both” Charles, 75, and Kate “and well-wishes for the both of them to recover quickly has been hugely heartwarming,” gushing that Kate is “remarkable in herself, without any question.”
