The morning after Britain finally got some answers about what had kept Catherine, Princess of Wales, away from public view — that she is receiving treatment for cancer — the handful of news cameras set up on Saturday outside Kensington Palace were the only suggestion that anything was amiss.
The sun shone as Londoners went out for their morning runs in the surrounding park, children biked under budding trees and tourists waited for the palace, where Catherine and her family live, to open the doors of its public areas to visitors.
As news of her illness filtered out after weeks of speculation and suspicion, many expressed their shock and their concern for a well-liked member of the British royal family who is in line to one day be queen. Many also seemed to want to throw a protective arm around a woman whose every move has been scrutinized in her marriage to Prince William.
“I just hope for the best for her,” said Helen Mercer, 68, who was reading a book on a bench near the palace.
Ms. Mercer, who was born in Canada but lives in London, said she had grown up with admiration for the royal family. Both of her parents are British, and she said that while her daughter had told her it was not “cool” to be a royalist, she had a fondness for the House of Windsor.
“They’ve always just sort of been there,” she said, but added that she felt the wild speculation about Catherine had been sickening. “I do wonder what all those people that hopped on that bandwagon are feeling now,” she said. “I hope they feel terrible.”
