Buckingham Palace has been flooded with “tens of thousands” of get well soon cards and gifts for the Princess of Wales after her courageous revelation that she is undergoing cancer treatment.

The palace’s correspondence team has been deeply moved by the overwhelming support for Kate, 42, who shared an emotional video message disclosing that she has started preventative chemotherapy.

The princess has stepped back from public life to focus on her treatment and recovery, as well as to protect her young family. Despite her withdrawal, the outpouring of support continues, with palace staff receiving an unprecedented volume of cards, letters, and gifts from the public expressing their support and good wishes.

The sheer volume of correspondence has been challenging for the team to manage, but they aim to eventually reply to all senders. Although the Prince and Princess of Wales have their private office at Kensington Palace, all letters to the Royal Family are processed by the Court Post Office.

Normally, the palace receives up to 1,000 letters each week from the public with various queries or messages of goodwill for individual royals. However, the response since the princess’s health issues were revealed has far exceeded that number.

Kate was unexpectedly hospitalised at the beginning of the year for major abdominal surgery. She stayed at The London Clinic for two weeks before returning home to recover.

In March, following intense global speculation about her health, the princess confirmed that while her condition was initially not thought to be cancerous, doctors later found evidence of the disease. She emphasised the need to focus on her recovery and supporting her young children during this challenging time, asking for privacy for her family as she completed her treatment.

Although there has been no official update on her health since then, The Mail reports that the princess has been seen out with her family more frequently in recent weeks, which many view as a positive sign.

However, earlier this week, Kensington Palace emphasised that she still needs time and space to recover. Speaking at the launch of a landmark report by her early years “business taskforce,” a Kensington Palace spokesman clarified that this should not be seen as her returning to work.

A senior royal aide added, “The Princess of Wales was the driving force behind the business task force. She has been kept up to date since the inception of the task force and she has read the report and been briefed on it. This is a clear commitment she has made that throughout her life of public service, this will be a focus. That will continue when she returns to work. But we have been really clear that she needs the space and the privacy to recover right now. She will return to work when she has had the green light from doctors.”