TIME Person of the Year 2024: THIS is the reason why Kate Middleton is on the shortlist

From health scare early this year to the annual royal Christmas carol event, Kate Middleton has kept the international headlines busy this year.

The Princess of Wales was also in news for her role in the royal family extending an olive branch to Prince Harry, and the many rumours surrounding her divorce with Prince William.

However, these busy international headlines have helped Kate land the shortlist of TIME’s 2024 Person of the Year award. She was previously on the TIME100 list of Most Influential People in 2013, and one of the runners-up for Person of the Year in 2011.

Here’s why Kate Middleton has been shortlisted for 2024 Person of the Year award:

According to TIME magazine, the Princess of Wales made international headlines this year and stirred a conversation about privacy and health for public figures.

In January, Kate Middleton was hospitalised for two weeks for a “planned abdominal surgery” and Kensington Palace said she would be out of the public eye until Easter.

But after conspiracy theories circulated online in March about Middleton’s whereabouts, the royal put the rumors to rest by revealing that she had been diagnosed with cancer.

In September, Middleton announced that she had completed her chemotherapy treatment.

TIME’s Person of the Year award

TIME will announce the 2024 Person of the Year on Thursday.

Since 1927, TIME has named a person, group, or concept that had the biggest impact—for good or for ill—on the world over the previous 12 months.

In 2023, TIME selected pop superstar Taylor Swift as Person of the Year. Other previous selections include Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the “spirit of Ukraine” in 2022, tech titan Elon Musk in 2021, the Ebola fighters in 2014, and former US President Barack Obama in 2012 and 2008.