Kate Middleton’s Cancer Treatment Has Been ‘Very Grueling’

Kate Middleton is handling her cancer treatment like a champ, a new royal source has revealed. The Princess of Wales—who has remained out of the public eye since announcing her diagnosis on March 22—has fallen on difficult times throughout her treatment, but has been handling it better in recent weeks, so much so that she has officially “turned a corner.”

“She’s tolerating this preventative chemotherapy better. I think she had a hard time in the beginning. These are strong drugs that she’s on, but she’s tolerating it better, and she’s doing better,” royal expert Katie Nicholl told Entertainment Tonight. “We’ve had reports from members of the public that she’s been out and about. I’ve heard from from certain people that… she’s out with the children. That’s a really positive sign.”

Despite there being contradictory reports speculating otherwise, Nicholl confirmed that Middleton “is absolutely going to return to public duties”—but seeing her at June 15’s Trooping the Colour event is “incredibly unlikely.” Instead, Nicholl believes that Prince William will attend the event with all three of their children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis. Middleton’s absence, however, doesn’t determine anything about the future of her work.

“Everything I hear from the palace, from those close to the princess, is that she’s absolutely determined to get back to the job to pick up where she left off and to do the wonderful work that she was doing as Princess of Wales,” the expert explained. “I think what this shows all of us is how absolutely vital she is to the monarchy. The monarchy needs her, and therefore we need her to be better.”

While royal fans are eager to see Middleton sooner rather than later, the cancer treatment has made her particularly vulnerable and as such has required to be selective with the company she surrounds herself with.

“She’s going through very grueling treatment that has really taken its toll on her. While I’m told that she’s turned a corner and she’s doing better, she’s still going to be prone to infection as she goes through this preventative chemotherapy. She’s going to be very careful about who she she’s coming into contact with. She’s not going to want to put herself at any risk,” Nicholl explained. “Therefore, being out of the spotlight and being quiet, not entertaining, not being with too many people, really just keeping herself very much below the radar within that tight family that she has, is absolutely paramount to her full recovery.”

Until then, Middleton is “determined to get back… It is her absolute ambition, determination, and intention to be back to work.”