Kate Middleton's jaunty Breton sweater from her cancer diagnosis video is a throwback to happier times - from wearing it on a trip to St Andrew's where she fell in love with Wills to donning it while watching over Prince Louise lark about in a wheelbarrow

Sometimes she is not a princess, but a school-run mum, a wife and a homemaker.

That's the message Kate was sending when she revealed her cancer diagnosis in a low-key Breton-striped sweater.

It's a personal favourite of the Princess of Wales who has reached for its jaunty nautical stripes on several earlier – and happier – occasions.

Notably, she picked it in May 2019 for a trip to St Andrews where her relationship with Prince William blossomed, and in April last year she was pictured wearing it in an official photograph of Prince Louis larking about in a wheelbarrow.

With a price tag of £650 from top label Erdem (whose dresses Kate has patronised since 2011) that particular 100 per cent Scottish cashmere sweater is beyond the reach of many women. 

Notably, she picked it in May 2019 for a trip to St Andrews where her relationship with Prince William blossomed

In April last year she was pictured wearing it in an official photograph of Prince Louis larking about in a wheelbarrow

The Princess of Wales meets Grayson Stevenson, five, and his dad, Mark Stevenson, during a visit to Dadvengers, a community for dads and their children, in north London on November 1

Kate sent the message she is not a princess, but a school-run mum, a wife and a homemaker when she revealed her cancer diagnosis in a low-key Breton-striped sweater

But ever since Coco Chanel decreed Breton stripes to be super-stylish by wearing them herself on sunny Riviera streets back in the 1920s, they have been a wardrobe staple for most.

They're youthful, fun, upbeat and free, with a dash of beach and ozone, a different kind of armour to that found in a royal palace and probably just what Kate wanted to wear to lift her spirits.

But really, in choosing this everyday look, the Princess was reminding the nation that she is not just 'ours' but also 'theirs', a private woman whose priorities must lie with her husband and children, parents and siblings, until her recovery is complete. 

On a park bench in jeans and barely there make-up, her long hair loose, she was underlining the fact that cancer is no respecter of her life of privilege. 

And she was asking us for the understanding she needs to fight it in privacy.