Kate's love shone through in video - in contrast to the hatefilled bile of her critics

Agony is piled on anguish. Disbelief gives way to despair. It’s almost impossible to overstate the sense of heart-rending sorrow that will be felt at the terrible news of the Princess of Wales’ cancer. After all the hysterical speculation in recent weeks about her condition, much of it cruel, all of it ignorant, the revelation of the truth about Kate’s health is far grimmer than almost anyone outside her family will have imagined.

Yet even in the midst of the turmoil she must be feeling, she managed to put on a heroically brave face last night as she made her address. Because of instinctive shyness, she has never enjoyed public speaking, but she gave an admirable performance as she talked stoically about the diagnosis and optimistically about her course of chemotherapy.

Her love for her family shone through, as did her gratitude to her medical team.

The power of her words was made all the greater by her obvious vulnerability, reflected in the occasional crack in her voice. Although intensely personal and full of raw emotion, the broadcast was honest, straight and phlegmatic, precisely the qualities that will help her on her difficult journey.

For all her refinement, there is a welcome streak of toughness about the Princess which may owe something to her forebears. Her paternal grandmother Valerie was a code-breaker at Bletchley during the Second World War, while on her mother’s side, her ancestors came from Durham coal-mining communities.

Even so, the thought of what she, her husband, her children and her loved ones are now going through is painful to contemplate.

A dark shadow has been cast across their lives and all of them will need every ounce of courage and compassion to cope with the harrowing ordeal. But this is not just a distressing episode for her beloved family.

It is also a bleak moment in our national story, for Kate Middleton has been the best thing to happen to the House of Windsor in decades.

Indeed, with her mix of modesty, charisma, elegance and charm, she has often seemed more cut out for royalty than many of those linked by birth to the Crown. Since her marriage to Prince William in 2011, she has proved a devoted wife, an inspirational mother, an impressive ambassador for Britain, a powerful advocate of important causes like early years development, and a global superstar.

She is, truly, the Jewel in the Crown of the House of Windsor, the Royal member on whom so many hopes for the future of the monarchy now rest. That helps to explain the intensity of the shockwave that reverberated across Britain and the world last night.

In some quarters, shock should be accompanied by a sense of shame.

Her broadcast was not just a display of calm determination under pressure but was also an invaluable public service in exposing the hollowness of the lurid nonsense that has swirled around her ever since she first went into hospital in January.

During a period when she has dealt with major abdominal surgery, sought to recover from that, and then embarked on a course of chemotherapy, in addition to explaining her medical problems to her children without alarming then, she has had to put up with a barrage of mockery, sneers, abuse and conspiracy theories.

Much of this viciousness is peddled on social media platforms by miserable left-wingers who seize on any stick with which to beat the monarchy.

Just as nasty are Harry and Meghan’s deranged supporters, whose humanity has been obliterated by their partisan hatred of the House of Windsor.

“Be kind,” is one of the mantras of the social justice warriors, but they have shown none of that spirit towards Catherine. Perhaps her news will make them contemplate their behaviour before they send their next nasty Tweet or text.

The broadcast also puts into perspective the ridiculous, pompous demands from some media outlets for the Princess or the Palace to be “more open” about her health.

Given the nature of her condition, she had every right to maintain her privacy. She might be a public figure, but she is not public property, and if they’d had more sensitivity and less self-importance, these proselytisers for transparency would have hesitated to crank up the pressure. In recent days the airwaves have been thick with know-all commentators and smug wiseacres who keep telling us that the Royal Family has made a mess of its “communications strategy” by secrecy and inconsistency.

But these self-regarding critics are the ones who now look foolish and irrelevant.

Princess Kate’s diagnosis put the Palace in an extremely difficult position, and their press teams had to make the Royal Family their priority rather than trying to satisfy the ravenous appetite of the self-serving media crowd.

It has been an extremely difficult time for the Royal Family, having lost both the Queen and Prince Phillip since 2021, as well having to deal with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, whose attitude to their relations has been a combination of personal spite, political ambition, unhinged jealousy and deluded self-pity.

Today, Prince Harry is another who should be hanging his head in shame.

Once so close to him, the Princess has been left bewildered by his perceived hostility.

The monarchy’s difficulties have been compounded by the King’s bout of cancer, which have left the Royal ranks depleted just at a time when the nation is in political turmoil, an election is not far away, and Britain is embroiled in two major conflicts, one in Ukraine for which we are supplying arms, and the other in Gaza for which we are providing aid.

The fighting in Gaza is also hurting Britan’s social cohesion, as angry pro-Palestinian mobs continually hold our cities to ransom.

But the future could look far brighter in a couple of months, if the King and Princess maintain their recovery. Both of them have looked after themselves and have looked after themselves with diet and exercise.

Aided by positive thinking, they have every chance of overcoming the hurdles they now face. Such a double triumph will be an occasion for national rejoicing.

In 1872, when Queen Victoria’s heir Bertie, the Princess of Wales, recovered from a bout of typhoid that nearly killed him, a hugely popular service of thanksgiving was held for him.

A return to health by the King and Kate will prompt demands for an even greater celebration.