Kate Middleton setting new protocol for royal duties | The Royal Record

[Music] hello and welcome to the Royal record here on GB news I'm Cameron Walker GB news's Royal correspondent and I'm San anen Royal editor of GB news.com it's been a very busy start to September for the Royal household a fresh update from the Princess of Wales on her health Journey she has completed her course of preventative chemotherapy we'll bring you all the details we'll also be analyzing Prince Williams fresh statement that he gave during an engagement in Wales this week and it's going to be a busy October for the king and queen who will be jet setting halfway across the world visiting Australia and [Music] S on Monday the Princess of Wales released a very personal video message announcing that she has completed her course of preventative chemotherapy and on the surface yes very good news um but also of course she's not quite out of the wood yet and S far the video gave a real insight into what she's kind of been going through in terms of her recovery over the last N9 months and it involved some very special people in the princess's life yeah so the kind of summary was Kate's Journey that we haven't really seen um you know she said that life can change uh in an instant which I think really captured her feeling of how fragile life can be sometimes and I think when you get um diagnosed with something like cancer um it can come as as a shock and to to not just you but the people around you um Kate also said that Katherine also said that um the last nine months have been incredibly tough for her family and and for them as a family and the people that featured in the video were her husband Prince William her her three children Prince George princess Charlotte and Prince Louie and then also her parents Carol Middleton and Michael Middleton so and the dog and the dog yes and the dog and so um it it really captured the the kind of immediate people that are that are so important to Catherine um and yeah the video was was actually really emotional wasn't it yeah that video is shot by World War let's take a very short look at a clip as the summer comes to an end I cannot tell you what a relief it is to have finally completed my chemotherapy treatment the last 9 months have been incredibly tough for us as a family life as you know it can change in an instant and we've had to find a way to naate the stormy waters and Road [Music] unknown the cancer journey is complex scary and unpredictable for everyone especially those closest to [Music] you with humility it also brings you face to face with your own vulnerabilities in a way you've never considered before and with that A New Perspective on everything as far that video very Arty very cinematic very very emotional it's very rare isn't it that we would have a video like this shot by or released by the royal family it was very intimate and showed very close family relationships yeah it was it was different to pretty much anything we've seen before from the royal family um you know you wrote an an an analysis for GB news.com this week where you said um it it kind of showed that Katherine and William are Unbound by Royal protocol and they're and they're doing things their way and um and I think that video showed it that they were seizing control of a narrative that at times ran wild um through uh reporting when they were in uh moments of silence and uh recovering as a family so it it was very different but um I thought it was wonderful to see and and I'd like to see uh kind of other intimate shots into the royal family similar to that in the future yeah they're certainly doing things their way I think gon of a of never complain never explain which was of course famously unofficially the late Queen's uh motto and I think the public reaction to that video was really overwhelmingly positive yeah you're always going to get the negative people who say it was too cinematic or whatever but I think on the whole a lot of people were just so pleased that the princess had finished a preventive course of chemotherapy but there has been a little bit of confusion since that video was released as to whether the princess is actually cancer-free uh or not what we know what the princess has said is that she has completed her course of preventative chemotherapy and that she is focused on staying cancer free but that doesn't mean that she is currently cancer- free because from my understanding there is absolutely no uh suggestion from Kensington Palace that she is either in remission or currently cancer-free and also the fact that they say that the princess is going to be doing a limited number of engagements a handful of of engagements is how it was described to me um suggests that she still has good days and bad days with her health and I'm getting the sense that when these engagements as and when they do happen it's going to be a bit of a last minute announcement that they are happening because of course what they don't want to do is announce something in the usual way a week in advance okay you know some some engagements are announced week in advance anyway but then she has to pull out last minute and then of course the media speculation and the public outpouring of panic would just be a little bit overwhelming and they what they don't want to do is the narrative to run away from them again like it did in March yeah and we've seen that with the two public appearances that Katherine has made this year I think they confirmed on the Saturday morning that she would then attend the men's singles final at wimon on on the Sunday and it was a similar thing with trooping the color in in June as well so um I I think that's going to be the case that we won't know until maybe a day or two uh in advance when uh Katherine will make those public appearances um but it's good that she feels that she will be able to before the end of the year and the fact that she's outlined that in the statement I think we can um safely say that we probably will see her once or twice before 2025 yeah I mean I know for a fact she's planning to attend at least two um but there's hope that certainly there'll be uh more than two those two examples are the uh senat half remebrance Sunday service of the senat half on Remembrance Sunday in November she very much hopes to go to that and she has started I understand planning her annual Carol concerts at Westminster ABY for the Christmas period in December but as I say kend and Palace have not confirmed either of those engagements I suspect also what the princess will want to prioritize is her early childhood projects and engagements because of course she hasn't done a external engagements to do with Early Childhood since 2023 so I suspect that's going to be pretty high on her priority list yeah and on Tuesday we saw Prince William uh step out in Wales um for an engagement there and he provided a health update on Katherine following her video announcement on the Monday where he said that she still has a long way to go um and I think I think that's important to remember uh she she isn't cancer free um and it's still it's still part of her journey finishing chemo uh chemotherapy treatment was just um one chapter of it yeah and Prince William was handed to get well soon cards from members of the public in Wales when he was doing a bit of a walkout there and I'm sure he was pretty touched by that as as well the support of the public particularly in Wales of course some a a country which he is Prince of isn't he and it's certainly um a country which he wants to deepen the trust and understanding of the people of that country and I'm sure when the princess is is is well enough she will clearly want to go to Wales as well but my favorite part of the video obviously apart from the over overwhelming you know happiness that the princess has finished her chemotherapy was it must have been a very very short clip um but it was Prince George saying is this filming and then the two children going charlott and Lou going hello hello it was just really lovely to see those three children relaxed in a kind of family environment yeah and something with that clip that I noticed as well was how much deeper George's voice was to Louis and it just kind of was like George is getting older now he's 11 um he's obviously soon going to choose which secondary school he goes to um so yeah there they're growing up fast yeah I mean he's going to be at lamri for another two years before he decides where he's going to go I mean is it going to be Eaton is it going to be mbra like his mother or Eaton like his father or somewhere completely different I guess we'll have to wait and see on that one yeah and um during his engagement on Tuesday William um made a joke when he was handed some friendship bracelets for his children by um by a member of the public he said that he'd have to keep them away from Prince Louie because uh Louie often steals Princess Charlotte's things which I thought was really funny yeah and Prince William also said in Wales yesterday that he really wanted to fly fly helicopters again because of course he was an RF search and rescue helicopter pilots and East anglian air ambulance pilot as well so I think he enjoys it doesn't he and I'm sure maybe his children will one day or at least Prince George maybe will learn to fly a helicopter guess we'll wait and see on that one and uh speaking of flying King Charles and queen Camila are set for a very long flight to Australia um next month aren't they yeah oh the Long Haul flight is it is a huge Le long flight I say that as we'll see whether I'll I'll going and be covering it for GB news not confirmed yet but um it is the first Long Haul flight uh of King Charles and queen Camila since they uh since King Charles's cancer diagnosis um I think there's two things to say on that I think adap it's very clear from the information I received yes uh received earlier this week that adaptions have been made so for example New Zealand has been canned that was originally on the cards that he would also go to New Zealand but on doctor's advice because of his cancer diagnosis uh it's thought but it's not appropriate for him to go there I understand there's also going to be resp breaks factored in to the itinery the all happening between the 18th and the 26th of October um suggesting again that they want the palace officials want to keep the king's energy levels up remember they're both in their mid 70s but it's a really tricky balancing act because King Charles is head of the common head of Commonwealth obviously but he's head of states in Australia that is a country which has toyed with the idea of becoming a republic although plans to hold a referendum on becoming a republic repu have been shelves they're sheld at the start of this year but contrast the King's first visit to Australia as head of state which is happening next month to the late Queen's first visit to Australia in 1954 she visited every single state and territory seven Capital Cities 70 Towns over 58 days King Charles is going to be there less than a week and is only going to be visiting CRA and Sydney but of course of course the queen was in her 20s when she went and King Charles Cy his 70s and he's got cancer so you can see why yep that did strike me though when we got the the details through the the entirety of the tour is going to last 8 days it feels short and it is a long way to go but as you said I supposed adaptions have had to be made with uh King Charles current health condition um but there's still a lot to look forward to there King Charles is going to um meet some cancer specialist scientists to discuss um melanoma so I feel I still think there'll be very um many impactful engagements but um across eight days for for both countries it it is going to be a brief tour for for how long they're going yeah and I think Australia in particular you're going to have The Usual Suspects of engagements military engagements laying reefs at war memorial sustainability culture King Charles I'm told is going through barbecue which I'm sure I can't wait to see pictures of that and as you say the cancer one but following uh Australia he's going to Samoa first for a state visit that's something that the British government has asked the king to conduct where he'll be meeting young people having bilateral uh meetings with the politicians of samura um and I I understand by speaking to a source in the foreign office yesterday that um it's very strategic for the UK government these uh spe Pacific Islands um because they really want to build a big like proper trade relationship between the two countries Focus very much on their uh priority which is climate change that Samoa's priority climate change of course it's a very low Ling island in the Pacific which can is prone to Danger when it comes to sea level rises and of course Security in the Indo Pacific region as well and King Charles as the power of soft diplomacy which he has a master of soft diplomacy I should say is clearly going to be a big asset for the British government here and do you think that's why they chose to can New Zealand rather than Samoa because I think some people will think well why not go to Australia and New Zealand rather than um an island like Samoa yeah I think if it wasn't for the Commonwealth heads government meeting which is happening immediately after the state visit to Samoa Comm hers government meeting happening in s samura this year um I suspect it would have been Australia and New Zealand and then fly back but Charles is head of a commonwealth so clearly he needs to go to the Commonwealth heads of government meeting and it is in a similar part of the world and I think on balance they had to prioritize what was more of a priority and I understand the decision was was taken in very close consultation with the Prime Minister of Australia and the prime minister of New Zealand as well so it was a mutual decision New Zealand haven't new zealands have not been snubs by Buckingham Palace or the king it very much was a mutual decision yeah and I think at the time we did hear a statement from the the prime minister of New Zealand saying that you know King Charles is always welcome and that it's a shame for them to miss out on on him coming to to visit their country as well absolutely and King Charles I'm sure will get a spring in his step before chogm come government meeting 56 countries of course descending on this very relatively small island of samur it's only got just over 200,000 uh population wise um the theme of this year is one resilience common future and I suspect there's going to be lots of climate change and sustainability engagements for King Charles so he'll be very happy about [Music] that well that's it for another episode of the royal record here on GB news remember you can keep in contact with us by using the email address Royal atgb news. UK or the # gbn worldy record and don't forget you can keep up to date with all the latest Royal news and Analysis by going to gbs.edu [Music]