Kate Middleton’s Viral Cancer Update Video is Predicted to Be Timeless on TikTok—Here’s Why
Kate Middleton’s cancer update video, in which she revealed she’s “cancer-free” and done with chemotherapy, is expected to have a long life on TikTok. Why? A commentator says the video, which featured a rare look at the royal’s family life with Prince William, targeted young people.
Kate’s cancer update video went over better on TikTok than on other social media
On Sept. 9, 2024, the Princess of Wales gave the world an update on her health. It came after revealing she’d been diagnosed with an undisclosed type of cancer in March. Kate did so in a stylized video that, unlike her initial cancer diagnosis announcement, didn’t feature her speaking directly to the camera.
Instead, it showed her, along with her husband, the Prince of Wales, 42, as well as Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, 9, and Prince Louis, 6, frolicking in nature, having a picnic, and playing card games. (Kate’s parents also made a quick cameo.)
The video, per Newsweek, didn’t “win the approval of older commentators and tabloid columnists.” It did, however, become a social media “hit,” particularly on TikTok.
“There’s this whole additional audience of people who will just enjoy all those little moments that people love, separated from the kind of overall original context of Kate’s long message and the long video,” Jack Royston said on “The Royal Report” podcast. “And that will live on for years, in my opinion.”
“I’m fully expecting clips of this video to keep popping up on TikTok for years to come. So it’s going to live on in a dissected form,” he continued.
“[Young people] are much more on TikTok,” he said. Whereas older generations on X, formerly Twitter, are “the ones who are actually getting more annoyed about it.”
“So I think they’re viewing it through the prism of wanting the video to only possibly be about what it’s supposed to be about. And the way that audiences consume content isn’t like that anymore.”
Young people are likely to use footage from Kate’s cancer update in future TikTok videos
Clips of Kate’s cancer update video making the rounds on TikTok isn’t the only way Royston sees it being, as the outlet described, “future proof.” He suggested it will pop up again and again in years to come because of TikTok content creators’ desire to use it in their own videos.
“TikTok was all just enjoying the little family scenes,” he said. “TikTok is by far the bigger one. And it’s by far the more popular with young people. And that core audience that the monarchy needs to speak to nowadays.”
“Videos that appear on social media are no longer only about what they’re supposed to be about,” he continued. “They are whatever fans want to make them about. And the fan content generated out of this video has all been positive towards [sic] Kate. And I think that will actually be what endures.”
What Kate said in her cancer update video
As for what Kate said in her viral video, she shared that she’s done with chemotherapy following an “incredibly tough” time for the Wales family. Her “focus,” she said, is to stay “cancer-free.” She also explained—in a voiceover—that the experience has given her a “new perspective on everything.”
“This time has, above all, reminded William and me to reflect and be grateful for the simple yet important things in life, which so many of us often take for granted,” she said. “Of simply loving and being loved.”
As mentioned in her June 2024 update, Kate’s still approaching “each day as it comes.” At the same time, she’s looking forward to “more public engagements in the coming months.”
At the time of writing, Kensington Palace hasn’t issued a date for Kate’s return to royal duties. However, in the weeks since, she’s had a meeting for her early childhood initiative and has been spotted at church.
