"We just heard, obviously all of us just heard, the terrible news," Jean-Pierre said.
"Our thoughts are with the Duchess of Cambridge and her family members and friends during this incredibly difficult time. And certainly, we wish her a full recovery. And I think it's important that we respect their privacy, especially at this time."
On behalf of the whole Labour Party, I want to send my very best wishes to Her Royal Highness at this distressing time.
Our thoughts are with the whole Royal Family as they come to terms with the news and as they support The Princess of Wales through her treatment and recovery. pic.twitter.com/SiScvfhe8O
Statement from Kensington Palace about Kate's surgery
Kensington Palace's original statement on Kate Middleton's surgery
KENSINGTON Palace released a statement in January after Kate had undergone surgery.
Sources made it clear Kate would be out of action until at least Easter.
The palace said: "The Princess of Wales appreciates the interest this statement will generate.
"She hopes that the public will understand her desire to maintain as much normality for her children as possible; and her wish that her personal medical information remains private.
"Kensington Palace will, therefore, only provide updates on Her Royal Highness’ progress when there is significant new information to share.
"The Princess of Wales wishes to apologise to all those concerned for the fact that she has to postpone her upcoming engagements.
"She looks forward to reinstating as many as possible, as soon as possible.”
"We hope that you will understand that, as a family, we now need some time, space and privacy while I complete my treatment," Kate said.
"My work has always brought me a deep sense of joy and I look forward to being back when I am able, but for now I must focus on making a full recovery."
"My medical team therefore advised that I should undergo a course of preventative chemotherapy and I am now in the early stages of that treatment," Princess Kate said.
"This of course came as a huge shock, and William and I have been doing everything we can to process and manage this privately for the sake of our young family."
"As you can imagine, this has taken time. It has taken me time to recover from major surgery in order to start my treatment," Kate continued.
"But, most importantly, it has taken us 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.
"As I have said to them; I am well and getting stronger every day by focusing on the things that will help me heal; in my mind, body and spirits."
In a video message released on Friday evening, Princess Kate revealed she has been diagnosed with cancer.
"I wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you, personally, for all the wonderful messages of support and for your understanding whilst I have been recovering from surgery.
"It has been an incredibly tough couple of months for our entire family, but I’ve had a fantastic medical team who have taken great care of me, for which I am so grateful."
However, we do know the future queen underwent an abdominal procedure.
Kate Middleton arrived at The London Clinic, the UK's largest independent private hospital, for a planned abdominal procedure on Tuesday January 16, 2024.
She underwent successful surgery and was said to be "doing well" in hospital following the operation.
Ammer Hall is a 10-bedroom mansion on the Royal Family's Sandringham Estate.
Prince William and Kate Middleton typically spend the school holidays there with Charlotte, Louis and George.
Royal editor Ingrid Seward told Fabulous: “Their home, Anmer Hall has every amenity imaginable and is a small animal haven including guinea pigs, hamsters, rabbits and chickens.
“Then there is the pony Charlotte was given for her 7th birthday in 2022.
“It is small enough to be transported relatively easily between the Royal Mews at Windsor where all the royal children’s ponies are kept and the stables at Sandringham.”
Meghan Markle jets in A-list photographer in bid to avoid picture gaff
Meghan Markle flew in an A-list photographer to take snaps of young royals Archie and Lilibet.
The Duchess of Sussex is hoping to avoid a repeat of Princess Kate's recent Mother's Day photo mishap.
Jake Rosenberg is said to have travelled to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s £12 mansion in California earlier this month to take “portraits for the family”.
The Mail reports that the pro snapper “took a series of pictures of Meghan on her own, cooking, and her with the children.”
Patient records at the hospital being probed for an alleged “hack” to gain access to the medical details of the Princess of Wales were “easily available” to doctors and nurses, a watchdog previously found.
But a Care Quality Commission (CQC) report concluded that records were “stored securely” at The London Clinic, where the Princess, 42, stayed for 13 days in January following abdominal surgery.
Inspectors praised staff for treating patients with “compassion and dignity” as well as respecting their “privacy and dignity”.
The unannounced inspection took place in June 2021 after the CQC “received information that gave us concerns about the safety and quality of services,” the MailOnline reports.
The report said: “Those concerns arose from several never events and serious incidents and numerous whistle-blowers around staffing and culture.”
Piers Morgan hits out at Palace's approach to Kate's health battle
Piers Morgan has criticised the Palace's approach to Kate Middleton's health battle.
Writing in The Sun, he said: "I understand the Princess’s desire to keep her health issue secret, as any woman would, and her strong-willed husband’s even greater desire to stop the media finding out, but by not saying anything, they’ve made the scrutiny and rumour-mongering a million times worse.
"As with the Mother’s Day edited photo fiasco, transparency in this modern era of unregulated social media platforms such as X is always going to be better than suppression.
"The good old days of “never complain, never explain” worked when there was no social media. It won’t work now, as we’ve seen."
Have Harry and Meghan been in touch with Princess Kate?
Our royal editor revealed there had been “virtually no contact” between Harry and Meghan and Princess Kate, despite her recent health battle.
Matt Wilkinson told us: “I do not doubt that Harry and Meghan hope nothing more than Kate makes a full recovery.
“Harry and Kate were extremely close for many years. If they have reached out privately then it is exactly that – private. There was a claim that the couple reached out to William, Kate and the King, in January.
“But there has been virtually no contact between the two couples since Megxit more than four years ago. And the insults lobbed from California have cut deep and been hard to forgive.
“I have asked the Sussexes if they would comment on the bullying that Kate has received online, as Meghan has spoken out about the treatment she received from trolls, but there has been no comment.”
