James Middleton is opening up about his older sister Kate Middleton’s cancer diagnosis.
While speaking to U.K. paper The Times about mental health and his new book, Middleton, 38, admitted it “was a challenging time” for the family when Princess Kate, 43, announced she’d been diagnosed with cancer in March 2024 and was undergoing treatment.
On Sept. 9, the Princess of Wales shared she’d completed chemotherapy and was taking “each day as it comes,” before she announced she was in remission from cancer in January of this year.
Middleton, whose book Meet Ella: The Dog Who Saved My Life has just been published in paperback in the U.K., told The Times of his sister’s health journey, “What I think is that, as a family, you learn to see and process and understand things. For her and her family, it was a challenging time, and I know for us and our bigger family, it was a challenging time, but I think it’s about communication and it’s about offering support and help where you can.”
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“Being there for someone is such an important part, and it doesn’t necessarily have to be on your terms, and it shouldn’t be on your terms. It should be on their terms; unconditional: ‘I’m not doing it for something in return. I’m doing it because I love you,’ ” the author and British entrepreneur continued.
“And that’s the simplest way of really demonstrating love. You can do it in all these various fancy ways, but actually, you know, it is just generally being there,” the father of one added to the outlet.
Elsewhere in the interview, Middleton spoke about being diagnosed with attention deficit disorder and clinical depression in late 2017 after having suicidal thoughts.
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He began cognitive behavioural therapy, as well as taking medication to control an irregular heartbeat and help him to sleep, along with taking antidepressants for a time, per the outlet. He noted to the publication that he is no longer taking medication.
“And you know, credit to my sister and brother-in-law [Kate and Prince William] for what they were doing with Heads Together at the time,” Middleton said of the Prince and Princess of Wales and Prince Harry’s mental health campaign, which they launched in 2016.
Middleton said Princess Kate and their sister, Pippa Middleton, 41, had even accompanied him to a couple of therapy sessions.
“Having them there meant that I knew I was surrounded by people that truly understood what I was going through. I think the biggest challenge was that I had my own stigma about mental health,” he told the outlet.
Middleton’s comments on Princess Kate’s cancer diagnosis come after he told PEOPLE while promoting the U.S. release of his book in September, “There are huge numbers of people who go through [cancer]. It doesn’t matter who you are, what your upbringing is. Life throws you obstacles.”
He added, “We are a close family. It is always important to have support around you and not do things alone. Sharing it does help bring people together. My love and support for my family is more than just an Instagram post,” referencing his March social media post about the diagnosis.
Middleton had written on Instagram at the time, “Over the years, we have climbed many mountains together. As a family, we will climb this one with you too,” alongside a photograph of himself and his siblings during their childhood.
