(NewsNation) — After conspiracy theories about Catherine, Princess of Wales, swirled in the media for weeks, she announced she is in the early stages of cancer.

Versha Sharma, editor-in-chief at Teen Vogue, joined NewsNation’s “Morning in America” to discuss the media coverage of the princess’ cancer diagnosis announcement, saying she was forced to come forward due to the media firestorm.

“I think if you look at the facts of the situation, the royal family and what their official statement was that she wasn’t going to be in public life for a couple of months, we knew that, they gave us a heads up about it. But because of the theories and some missteps by Buckingham Palace as well, conspiracy theories started to flourish. And none of this is Kate’s fault,” Sharma said.

Her announcement comes following a recent admission from Kate that she altered an official family photo — one meant to reassure the public that she was doing well — only made things worse.

“She would have been treated differently if she weren’t a woman. I think what we’ve also seen with Harry and Meghan in recent years has just shown the racism and sexism that still permeates a lot of our media and a lot of British society. Unfortunately, for Kate, I do think being a woman plays into it,” Sharma said.

The news is another jolt for the royal family since the announcement last month that King Charles III was being treated for an unspecified type of cancer that was discovered while undergoing a procedure for a benign enlarged prostate.

Charles said he is “so proud of Catherine for her courage in speaking as she did,” according to a statement released by Buckingham Palace. The king, who received prostate treatment in the same hospital and at the same time Kate had her surgery, remained in the “closest contact with his beloved daughter-in-law” in the past weeks.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.