Kate Middleton’s Brave Video Elevates Her to ‘Mythic Figure’ Royal Like Princess Diana: Commentator
Kate Middleton has found herself compared to Princess Diana throughout her royal career. However, the similarities between the two women were no more evident than when Kate opened up about her cancer diagnosis in a heartbreaking video announcement. A commentator states that this two-minute clip has since elevated her to a “mythic figure” like the late Princess of Wales.
Comparisons between Princess Diana and Kate Middleton are stronger since her cancer reveal
Daniela Elser of News.com.au reports that Kate Middleton’s brave video, where she revealed she was battling cancer, has struck comparisons to Prince William’s late mother, Princess Diana. The commentator claims Kate’s honesty is quite similar to the moment Diana broke her silence to admit she was suffering from an eating disorder.
Now, while Elser is not comparing cancer to bulimia, she does state that both women’s bravery to speak openly about their health struggles outside of the palace walls is a stunning example of how they showed they were only human and elevated their status to “mythic figures.”
The royal commentator looked back the moment Diana stood before an audience at Kensington Town Hall. Elser believes that on April 27, 1993, Diana transformed herself from a beloved princess to a true icon in less than 10 minutes.
“Her speech was emotional and clearly a deeply personal one. It was the first moment that the then 31-year-old, in her own words and voice, shared her suffering with the world,” Elser wrote.
“That fundamental aspect of Diana, her willingness to show people her pain and trauma, to invite us into her most private, inner life (to some degree), and her willingness to embrace vulnerability, was making her a mythic figure.”
She concluded, “Her daughter-in-law Catherine the Princess of Wales has just, wittingly or not, done the same thing. Kate’s first real Diana moment is here. What we have just seen her demonstrate in a two-minute, 15-second video is the utter making of her.”
Kate Middleton has ‘done more than all right’ since Prince William proposed
Daniela Elser claims that since Prince William proposed with Princess Diana’s sapphire and diamond engagement ring, Kate Middleton has done “more than all right” in her royal family role. She believes that wearing the ring of a woman so beloved by the world is a great weight.
“The choice of this most famous, and it could be argued haunted, piece of jewelry was both simultaneously deeply touching gesture and buckling under the weight of all that symbolism,” Elser writes. “But despite this start, the gal has done more than alright.”
She continued, “In the 13 years since then, Kate has doggedly, if slowly, forged her path, injecting a certain middle-class respectability into proceedings, all station wagons and muddy hockey kit and everyone mucking in to clear the table. Slowly, Kate managed to convert the naysayers and the doubters (me included), taking what seemed like a predictable, safe charitable focus – early childhood – and using it to set up a world-leading foundation sponsoring groundbreaking research and seeking to reshape the way an entire nation raises their kids fundamentally.”
In one day, Kate Middleton’s purpose in the royal family fundamentally shifted
It took a short video announcement where Kate Middleton shared news of her cancer diagnosis that her purpose in the royal family fundamentally shifted. She went from just the Princess of Wales to an iconic royal figure.
Daniela Elser wrote, “Even just a few months ago, in December 2023, it seemed like the Princess had landed in a pretty sturdy place. Widely adored in the United Kingdom, earning top marks for her grace, her reliable good humor, and having produced three future ribbon-cutters all boasting strong Windsor jawlines.”
She continued, “However, over the course of only a weekend, this perspective has fundamentally and irrevocably shifted. This was Kate like never before – emotional, raw, and letting the world see a whole new and wholly other her.”
“In a horrible bit of symmetry, here for the second time in Prince William’s life was a woman he loved consciously making themselves vulnerable for an audience of billions. The gutsiness it took for Diana to do this saw her shift from simply hugely popular to being viewed as positively saintly.”
Kate is now undergoing a similar transformation. Her strong statement regarding her cancer recast her narrative as one of steely courage, not just Prince William’s wife.
