KATE CANCER CRISIS!

AILING Princess Kate’s devastating cancer diagnosis came as her 12-year marriage to Prince William was unraveling and she was on the brink of stepping back from royal life, plunging her even further into an emotional tailspin, say well-placed palace sources.

The brave mom only managed to stay strong by focusing on the well-being of her children, George, 10, Charlotte, 8 and Louis, 5, our sources add.

“Catherine was crushed by the earth-shattering news,” a senior royal courtier tells The National ENQUIRER. “She suffered a total mental breakdown. But fears for her young family overtook everything — even her own survival!” 

According to insiders, Kate was initially told her condition was benign, so she was shocked and rocked when further tests detected the cancer.

“It was like her whole world was falling apart,” confides the courtier. “All she cared about was how and when to break the terrible news without the youngsters thinking their mother was dying and leaving them.

“She ordered a total blackout about the cancer until she could find the right time. Only a few family members were told — and she didn’t want to share her private pain.

“Kate finally realized she was wrong — the world was entitled to the truth.”

So the Princess of Wales, 42, finally revealed her deadly diagnosis nine weeks after undergoing “major abdominal surgery” at the London Clinic on Jan. 16.

But it wasn’t news to ENQUIRER readers! In February, we exclusively reported the future queen was secretly fighting cancer.