Kate Middleton surpasses Taylor Swift as Time’s ‘Person of the Year’ nominee for one ‘unplanned’ reason

Taylor Swift and her Eras Tour was all the global rave this year but surprisingly, she has been kicked out of the list of nominees for Time’s “Person of the Year” by Britain’s Catherine, Princess of Wales, or Kate Middleton as she’s widely known, due to one unexpected reason — her cancer diagnosis.

Those shortlisted by the magazine for the award can be a person, a concept, or a group that’s made the greatest global impact, whether positive or negative, over the past 12 months. The mom-of-three made the list because she sparked global conversations about health and privacy for public figures at the start of 2024.

In January, Kate underwent a “planned abdominal surgery“ which kickstarted the conversations, or shall we say the speculations, about her health. At the time, Kensington Palace beat around the bush amid suspicions that she had surgery because she has cancer. Representatives for the Princess denied the claims and pleaded with the public to let Kate recover from the surgery in peace and assured that she will return to her royal duties by Easter.

But her continued absence from the public only fueled the cancer talks. It was only after she was caught red-handed editing a Mother’s Day photo (probably in a bid to dispel rumors about her disease) that she finally addressed the rumors herself.

In March, Kate announced that she had been diagnosed with cancer and that it was discovered after she had the surgery. She said in a video message posted on X: “…At that time, it was thought that my condition was non-cancerous…However, tests after the operation found cancer had been present.” Under advice from her medical team, she then underwent a “course of preventative chemotherapy.” In her message, Kate also asked the public for “space and privacy“ to undergo her treatment.

Then in September, the Princess shared a touching video message to share her gratitude for the well-wishes she received during her treatment. She also announced that she has completed her chemotherapy, and is now cancer free.

She has since resumed with a few public engagements starting in mid-October, when she joined Prince William in Southport to meet the families of the victims of the mass stabbing at a Taylor Swift-themed yoga and dance class in July. Kate also joined the Royal Family at the Festival of Remembrance and at Remembrance Sunday. Then On Dec. 3, she and William welcomed Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and the first of his three wives to the U.K.

Her recent engagement was at her fourth annual Together at Christmas concert at Westminster Abbey on Dec. 6. At the event, she spoke about her cancer journey with singer Paloma Faith, saying: “I didn’t know this year was going to be the year that I’ve just had. The unplanned. But, I think lots of people this year have had such challenging times.”

Ironically, this year Kate was supposed to be out of the spotlight as she battled cancer behind closed doors. The last time she was shortlisted as Time’s “Person of the Year” was in 2013. This year, she joins other prominent names including Elon Musk, Donald Trump, Joe Rogan, and Mark Zuckerberg, with the winner due to be announced on Thursday, Dec. 12. Swift did not make the cut but at least she was given the award last year.