An expert believes there is one particular Royal Family member who has played a pivotal role in supporting Princess Kate.

Princess Kate battled with her cancer diagnosis in 2024 (Image: WPA POOL)

It is claimed Princess Kate had the strong support of one particular Royal Family member after being diagnosed with cancer in 2024 – Sophie, The Duchess of Edinburgh.

Duchess Sophie played a pivotal role for Princess Kate and has been described as an “absolute rock” for the Princess of Wales.

Princess Kate, who was seen in public only a handful of times last year, described 2024 as “incredibly tough” after announcing in September that she would gradually return to royal duties.

Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams told GB News: “There is no doubt that Sophie is someone who has been an absolute rock during a very rocky period.

“The Edinburghs have been valuable, especially at this time which has been so difficult.”

Duchess Sophie has been described as an “absolute rock” for the Princess (Image: Getty)

The royal expert described Duchess Sophie as being “tremendous” throughout an extremely difficult year.

Demonstrating her unwavering support, Duchess Sophie hit headlines when she appeared on the balcony overlooking the Cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday, 2024, as the Prince of Wales and King Charles lay wreaths.

The Duchess of Edinburgh moved from her original position on another balcony to support Kate after Queen Camilla had pulled out for health reasons.

Sophie was also seen at Kate’s Christmas concert, Together at Christmas, at Westminster Abbey, which was a key date in Kate’s calendar.

Prince William recently described the past year as “brutal” for the family, highlighting their personal struggles. In an interview to mark the end of his week-long visit to Cape Town in South Africa for the Earthshot prize awards ceremony, William was asked about his year. He said: “Honestly, it’s been dreadful. It’s probably been the hardest year in my life.”

“But I’m so proud of my wife, I’m proud of my father, for handling the things that they have done. But from a personal family point of view, it’s been, yeah, it’s been brutal.”

Sophie has shown her support towards Princess Kate (Image: Getty)

Kate, who celebrates her 43rd birthday today, appeared in a video with her family in September 2024, to confirm her return to public duties after completing a course of chemotherapy.

The emotional message about her cancer journey was spoken over images showing the family and their children enjoying the outdoors, and she said her focus now was “doing what I can to stay cancer free”.

Today, on her birthday, William also supported his wife with a kind message shared on social media. Kensington Palace posted the personal written message from William alongside a previously unseen picture of Kate taken by photographer Matt Porteous in Windsor last summer.

The black and white picture showed the princess looking relaxed and smiling, wearing jeans, a white shirt and a scarf.

The caption read: “George, Charlotte, Louis and I are so proud of you. Happy Birthday, Catherine. We love you. W.”