Windsor Castle well-wishers speak of ‘shock’ after Kate cancer announcement

People visiting Windsor Castle have spoken of their “shock” after the Princess of Wales announced she is undergoing treatment for cancer.

Well-wishers went to the Berkshire town on Saturday morning and many expressed hope that Kate’s video message will end recent online speculation about her.

Linda Boby, from Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, told PA: “It’s such a shock, she’s such a young lady and she deserves her privacy.

“I’m glad that she’s come out and said something so that can put everybody’s speculation to rest, and she can recover and be wonderful with her family, which is what she deserves, she deserves her space to do that.

“I’m just so shocked because she’s so young and really they’ve had to keep it to themselves to be able to digest it for their own sake before they can come out and say something.

“She’s got to consider the children as well, they’re so young and hopefully she’ll be on the mend.”

Ann Anderson, from Leigh-on-Sea in Essex, commended Kate’s announcement in the wake of “spiteful” speculation.

The 75-year-old said: “I thought it was absolutely tremendous for her to do that on her own, how can you sit on a bench like that at that age and just talk about your health?

“People shouldn’t have put her through that, it wasn’t necessary.”

She added: “My heart goes out to her, my heart goes out to William, hasn’t he been through enough? He really doesn’t need any more.”

Windsor local Clementine Black, 49, a business consultant, said: “It’s unbelievably upsetting that Kate has to come out and say this because of online speculation to be honest.

“I really feel sorry for her children, they’ll be affected the most, everyone has to remember that she’s a mother.”

Tourists from across the world were also among those outside Windsor Castle after Friday’s announcement.

Mario Baptista, 73, from Santa Catarina in southern Brazil, said: “I watched the video on television yesterday.

“I was really sorry to find out that she has a serious health issue.

“I was relieved, there was some sort of secrecy about what the problem was over the last few months. We hope she recovers swiftly, we’re rooting for her.”