A close friend and collaborator of Prince William and Princess Kate is giving her perspective on how the couple is navigating life following Kate’s cancer diagnosis.
Amaia Arrieta—a children’s clothing designer who has dressed Wales kids Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 9, and Prince Louis, 6, on multiple occasions—recently opened up about the family in a recent interview with The Telegraph.
“I’m heartbroken at the moment. I think they are going through hell,” she told the publication. “I hope they will be back. It’s really personal.”
Arrieta has been involved in dressing the little royals since Prince George was a baby. “Dressing the royals gives me so much pride; I really do care about how they look,” she said. “The first time I realized Prince George was wearing my designs, I was in Waitrose and saw the picture of him on the cover of Hello! magazine. That was a huge moment, because they had been coming to us, but you never know if they’ll actually wear it.”
The Spanish-born designer has also crafted a number of looks the kids have worn to milestone occasions, including family christenings, Princess Eugenie’s 2018 wedding, and the annual walk to morning church service on Christmas Day, according to the outlet.
Kate announced she had been diagnosed with a cancer in a personal video message shared to social media on March 22. While she didn’t specify what type of cancer she has or what stage the disease has progressed to, she explained that her medical team identified the cancer when she underwent an abdominal surgery in mid-January. She is now undergoing preventative chemotherapy to treat the condition.
Since then, Kensington Palace has not provided any further updates on the princess’s health. Meanwhile, Prince William—who took a brief break from work following Kate’s announcement, before officially returning to public-facing duties in April—recently offered a rare update on his family, telling a well-wisher last week, “We’re all doing well.”
As an associate editor at HarpersBAZAAR.com, Chelsey keeps a finger on the pulse on all things celeb news. She also writes on social movements, connecting with activists leading the fight on workers’ rights, climate justice, and more. Offline, she’s probably spending too much time on TikTok, rewatching Emma (the 2020 version, of course), or buying yet another corset.