Catherine’s statement highlights how to tell children about cancer

Princess of Wales says she has explained her diagnosis to George, Charlotte and Louis, which Cancer Research says is better than keeping a secret

• Princess of Wales receiving chemotherapy treatment for cancer
• What we know about the Princess of Wales’s cancer diagnosis
• Catherine’s statement in full

For many parents coming to terms with a cancer diagnosis, it is the hardest conversation to have. How do you tell your children that you have a serious illness, and that you can’t be certain of what the future holds?

In her video statement released on Friday, the Princess of Wales said the news of her cancer had been a “huge shock”. It had taken her and William “time to explain everything to George, Charlotte and Louis in a way that is appropriate for them, and to reassure them that I am going to be OK”.