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Harry and Meghan speak out after Princess Kate cancer diagnosis
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Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, wished Kate, the Princess of Wales, “health and healing” for her and her family after the royal revealed her cancer diagnosis on Friday.
“We wish health and healing for Kate and the family, and hope they are able to do so privately and in peace,” Harry and Meghan said in a statement provided to news agencies.
Kate announced in a video message on Friday that cancer was discovered following her January abdominal surgery and that she is undergoing preventative chemotherapy on the advice of her medical team.
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Kate said the diagnosis “came as a huge shock,” in her message, which was filmed a few days prior at Windsor. She did not specify what type of cancer she was diagnosed with. “William and I have been doing everything we can to process and manage this privately for the sake of our young family,” she said.
/ AP
“The princess is now on a recovery pathway having commenced a course of preventative chemotherapy in late February,” a Kensington Palace spokesman said.
Harry and Meghan’s relationship with the royal family has been fractured for years after they stepped back from duties in 2020. The couple has detailed accusations of racism and mistreatment from the British press and scant support from the royal family in media interviews.
Harry’s relationship with his older brother and heir to the throne, William, ruptured, with Harry detailing a physical fight in an interview with “60 Minutes.” “He knocked me over. I landed on the dog bowl,” Harry said in the interview. “I cut my back. I didn’t know about it at the time. But, yeah, he apologized afterwards. It was a pretty nasty experience.”
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After King Charles III announced he had been diagnosed with cancer and was receiving treatment in February, Harry flew to the United Kingdom to visit his father.
Harry has said he wants to have a relationship with his family.
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New documentary explores the private life of “Superman” icon Christopher Reeve
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Long before comic book characters dominated movie screens, actor Christopher Reeve made the world believes in superheroes with the 1978 classic “Superman.”
Reeve died in 2004, nearly a decade after an accident re-shaped his life. “Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story” is using interviews with family and friends and never-before-seen home videos to explore his real-life heroism.
Reeve started his career on the stage, studying at the prestigious Juilliard School and living with comedian Robin Williams. The pair had a friendship that was “more like a brotherhood,” said Reeve’s son Matthew. Reeve was in awe of Williams’ energy and versatility, Matthew Reeve said, but audiences quickly clued into Reeve’s own star power when he took on the role of the Man of Steel.
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To his children, though, he “was just dad,” Matthew Reeve said. The documentary explores how Matthew Reeve and his sister Alexandra Reeve Givens grew up watching their dad take the stage as Superman. “Super/Man” also reveals their heartbreak over their parents’ breakup and the joy they found when Reeve re-married. He tied the knot with Dana Reeve in 1992, and the pair welcomed another child, William Reeve, later that year.
“Dana was sunshine,” Alexandra Reeve Givens recalled. “She just brought joy with her wherever she was and could find it even in the darkest moments.”
Those dark moments came suddenly, when in 1995, a near-fatal horseback riding accident left Reeve paralyzed from the neck down. The documentary allows viewers to see, for the first time, what went on out of the public’s view. Reeve can be heard talking about how he “ruined (his) life and everybody else’s,” but in a touching moment, old friend Robin Williams is seen visiting him in the hospital.
“Robin showed him ‘Hey, you’re still you,'” Alexandra Reeve Givens said. “‘You still have this foundation of friendship and people around you, who adore you. And you’re going to find those fun moments in life again.'”
That support from friends and family re-ignited Reeve’s legacy of activism. He made appearances at the Democratic National Convention and the 68th Academy Awards in 1996, about a year after the accident. Matthew Reeve said watching his father address his industry peers at the Oscars was “one of (his) most proud moments.”
“It was just a production for him to get out of bed every morning, let alone get across the country and go out in public for the first time,” Matthew Reeve said. “It was a big deal. It was a big deal to him, but it was also a big deal to the entire disability community. We stayed up in London till like three in the morning to watch that live. It’s a fond memory.”
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Reeve also went on to launch what would become the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, which is dedicated to advancing research into spiral cord injury and help individuals and families impacted by paralysis. It was his dad’s mission to find a cure, Matthew Reeve said, while his stepmother wanted to focus on improving the lives of paralyzed people and their families. The foundation and Reeve’s platform helped bring unprecedented attention and funding to spinal cord injury research.
Reeve even kept acting and realized his lifelong dream of directing with the 1997 HBO movie “In the Gloaming.” Reeve died in 2004 from heart failure at 52.
“There is a huge amount of great actors and actresses out there, where their filmography might be amazing and what they achieve on a cultural level might be amazing, but have they actually achieved anything really as a human that moves the needle for our society?” said filmmaker Ian Bonhote, who made the documentary with Peter Ettedgui. “And Chris has done both things.”
“Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story” will open in theaters on Friday, Oct. 11.
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