Princess Kate cancer news: Video features different style of royal communication

LONDON — The world’s focus was on the news — that Kate, the Princess of Wales, had completed her chemotherapy treatment.

LONDON — The world’s focus was on the news — that Kate, the Princess of Wales, had completed her chemotherapy treatment. But the video used to share that message was far from a typical piece of royal messaging.

The video itself has made headlines, with royal watchers wondering what its sepia-toned production value signals for the institution, and whether its emotive content indicates a new approach for a family that has long struggled to balance a fierce desire for privacy with public demands for transparency.

Kate, 42, announced Monday that she had finished her treatment and would step up her return to public duties. But rather than a traditional text statement or a pared-back piece to camera like the video used to announce her cancer diagnosis, the news was shared in a three-minute video that broke with royal tradition.

Kate, Princess of Wales, smiling with her family in Norfolk, England, in images released Monday.Will Warr / AFP - Getty ImagesIt features images of Kate, Prince William and their three children, George, Charlotte and Louis, having a family picnic in the woods and playing on the beach — sharing hugs and laughs in home-video style. It’s accompanied by mellow music, cinematic angles, slow-motion effects and Kate’s voiceover detailing her cancer journey. There are also shots showing Kate placing her head on William’s shoulder, as well as the couple hugging and kissing — a level of intimacy rarely displayed by the royals in public. 

And it left some royal observers stunned.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/princess-kate-cancer-news-video-royal-messaging-rcna170359

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