As Kate pronounces she is in remission from most cancers, REBECCA ENGLISH reveals how the Princess of Wales is masterminding her return to work after going by way of hell and again – and is set to place her household first
From her moving video statement last March to September’s extraordinarily intimate family video, the Princess of Wales has shown admirable determination to speak about the devastating challenges of her ‘cancer journey’ on her own terms.
I can reveal that today’s visit to the Royal Marsden Hospital in West London – where she announced she is in remission – was the next stage in a carefully calibrated plan to manage her recovery and measured return to official duties – and one that is being decided by Catherine herself, rather than palace courtiers, at every stage.
It is another example of the quiet, unhurried conviction that the instinctively-shy boarding school girl from Berkshire has shown since marrying into the Royal Family more than a decade ago, particularly as regards her own royal duties and the upbringing of her children.
And it is one that she has always been determined should not be buffeted by knee-jerk reactions to public (or media) opinion, or even that of other family members, no mean feat in today’s instantly-reactive, social media-dominated world.
Kate chats with patients on her visit to the Royal Marsden hospital today, the next stage in a carefully calibrated plan to manage her recovery and measured return to official duties
Kate speaks with another patient at the hospital, after she spent a year largely absent from public appearances as she struggled through her own cancer diagnosis
Kate arrives at the hospital this morning, where she also received treatment during her own cancer journey
Earlier this month I revealed that people should not expect Catherine or her team to press a sudden ‘reset’ button in January after the last 12 months, during which the princess has largely been absent from the public gaze.
For the time being she would continue to put her family, not the family, first.
That was confirmed to me again by a senior royal aide just a few hours ago when discussing the princess’ upcoming engagement.
They stressed that Kensington Palace’s guidance about her return to public facing duties hadn’t changed, and that it would very much continue to be slow and gradual over many months to come.
What was also made clear to me was that today’s visit was the instinctive reaction of a woman who has been to hell and back over the past year but knows she has the benefit of an exceptional public platform to empathise with those going through the same physical and emotional strain – and to thank those working in our health services in challenging conditions to make patients’ lives more bearable.
‘Today was about visiting the Marsden to reflect on her own personal journey,’ they emphasised.
The princess thanked staff at the hospital for their care and compassion. She also spoke to cancer patients and offered them her support
The Royal Marsden Hospital in Chelsea, which Kate visited today to speak with those undergoing cancer treatment
Her decision has, of course, the full backing of her husband, Prince William, who last week issued an extraordinary and unprecedented tribute to his adored wife on her 43rd birthday, praising her strength and making clear his and the children’s pride in her.
William is an emotional man in private but traditionally less comfortable showing those feelings publicly, and it was clear to anyone who knows him this was a sign of the huge emotional strain he has felt as a husband and father over the last year.
The last time I visited the Royal Marsden in Chelsea was with the prince in May 2022 when he met, among many others, a lovely lady called Lorraine Kimber – a friend of bowl cancer campaigner Dame Deborah James – who was receiving treatment there for pancreatic cancer.
I later heard from her devastated husband that she sadly died in December that year after an admirably brave fight against the disease, selfless to the last.
I know that the Prince of Wales was privately told about her sad passing, too, and I am sure the fact that his own wife would go on to have treatment at the same hospital little more than a year later will have provoked a maelstrom of emotions in him.
As I have often said over the last year when writing about both Catherine and the King’s respective cancer battles, both acknowledge the privileged position they occupy.
But cancer is a leveller and there is little one-upmanship to be had when it comes to the sheer terror of being told that you have a potentially fatal disease – and in the princess’s case, at such a relatively young age.
The Princess of Wales has shown admirable determination to speak about the devastating challenges of her ‘cancer journey’ on her own terms, writes Rebecca English
The Princess of Wales speaks with members of the Emergency Services during a visit to Southport Community Centre in October last year
Listening to her talk to cancer patients today – some actually undergoing chemotherapy treatment while they spoke – it was clear that Catherine, typically, wanted to focus on them, not herself.
When one couple complimented her on how ‘amazingly well’ she and William had managed the situation with their children, she replied coyly, ‘oh that’s kind’ and moved on to ask about how the impact had been on them.
My understanding is that this will continue to be her approach over the coming weeks and months.
If and when she is ready to tell us more, she will. And until then she will continue to use her voice to amplify the experiences of those who can’t.
And always in the way she – and nobody else – thinks is right.
