The Duke and Duchess of Sussex
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle released a statement rallying around Kate Middleton after she revealed cancer diagnosis in a video statement.
(Photo by Matt Dunham - WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have spoken out for the first time about Kate Middleton's heartbreaking cancer diagnosis.

In a statement released after the 42-year-old Princess of Wales disclosed she has been receiving chemotherapy treatment for cancer, the couple expressed their wish for Middleton to have privacy as she fights her illness.

"We wish health and healing for Kate and the family, and hope they are able to do so privately and in peace," the Duke and Duchess of Sussex penned in a statement.

Middleton announced the cancer diagnosis in a video statement and revealed it was detected after she underwent "major abdominal surgery" back in January at the London Clinic.

"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," Kate said in the recording.

Harry and Meghan have been estranged from the royal family following their public departure from their royal duties in 2020 and moving with their two children to California.

In February, Harry flew to the United Kingdom from Montecito, California, for a quick trip to visit his father, King Charles III, after he, too, was diagnosed with cancer, reported the New York Post.

However, Harry did not meet with Middleton or his brother William during the short stay.

He later sat down for an interview with "Good Morning America" and discussed his father's cancer diagnosis and his trip.

"Look, I love my family. The fact that I was able to get on a plane and go and see him and spend any time with him, I'm grateful for that," expressed the prince.

"I went to go and see him as soon as I could," he told the hosts.