Princess Kate offers rare comment on 'challenging' year at Christmas concert

Princess Kate made a rare comment about her "challenging" year at a Christmas concert in the U.K. on Friday.

"I didn't know this year was going to be the year that I've just had," the princess told Paloma Faith, one of the stars set to perform at the concert, in a video posted to X by Channel 5 news.

Kate, 42, revealed in March that she had been diagnosed with cancer and was undergoing a course of preventative chemotherapy after having major abdominal surgery. While her treatment ended in September, the princess revealed in a video posted to X at the time: "My path to healing and full recovery is long and I must continue to take each day as it comes."

Kate's diagnosis came amid weeks of online fervor about her whereabouts and well-being, and her public appearances amid and since treatment have been rare. But the Princess of Wales noted that the royal family is not the only one to have faced hardships. "I think lots of people this year have had such challenging times, and many who are here today," Kate told Faith in the video before the show.

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Part of the annual "Together at Christmas" series which Kate founded in 2021 to honor first responders during the COVID-19 pandemic, the show has continued to spotlight people who Kensington Palace calls ambassadors of love and empathy in their community. It will air on Christmas Eve in the U.K. and feature performances from Faith as well as Olivia Dean and Gregory Porter.

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Will and Kate's three children, Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, 9, and Prince Louis, 6, were all in attendance.

Kate put an increased emphasis on family in the few statements she has made publicly about her cancer struggle. "This time has above all reminded William and me to reflect and be grateful for the simple yet important things in life, which so many of us often take for granted. Of simply loving and being loved," she said in the video announcing the end of her chemotherapy.

In the first announcement of her diagnosis, she also made reference to the challenge of battling cancer while her children were young. The princess said she and the prince had done "everything we can to process and manage this privately for the sake of our young family."

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The royals, who are watched like hawks by the British media, have taken turns stepping back from public engagements this year as several high-profile members have faced health concerns.

King Charles III shared earlier this year that he was diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer, and Queen Camilla was absent from several parts of a Qatari state visit earlier in the month due to a chest infection.

The king and queen were not in attendance at the concert.

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"I'm so proud of my wife; I'm proud of my father, for handling the things that they have done," Prince William told British media at the end of a recent visit to South Africa. "But from a personal family point of view, it's been brutal."

Kate's attendance at the concert is part of a string of recent appearances that mark her re-entry into public life. She is a principal member of the royal family and her significance, alongside husband Prince William, grew exponentially when the institution lost Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan, the other pair that brought a public-facing air of youth to the monarchy.

Harry and Meghan exited their royal roles in 2020, in a public dispute that was parts familial, economic and legal.

Harry appeared at the New York Times' DealBook summit Wednesday and addressed rumors of a split with Meghan. "It's hard to keep up with, but that's why you just sort of ignore it," he said. "The people I feel most sorry about are the trolls. Their hopes are just built and built, ... and then it doesn't happen. So, I feel sorry for them."

The duchess, meanwhile, attended the Paley Center for Media's Paley Honors fall gala the same day in support of friend Tyler Perry.

Contributing: Reuters, Edward Segarra

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kate Middleton remarks on 'challenging' year at Christmas concert