Kate Middleton opens up about her ‘really difficult’ cancer recovery as she meets with hospital patients and says ‘you’re not able to function normally’

The Princess of Wales spoke today of the pressure of putting on a ‘brave face’ through cancer treatment and recovery, where ‘everybody expects you to be better – but that’s not the case at all’.

Kate, 43, who is continuing a slow and measured return to public life while in remission from cancer, said there was an expectation that patients ‘crack on, get back to normal’.

But, she said, the ‘very scary, very daunting experience’ did not end with the conclusion of treatment, with patients needing to take time to find their ‘new normal’.

She also revealed that she had tried acupuncture – a traditional Chinese medicine in which practitioners insert thin needles into specific parts of the body to promote healing and relieve pain – as part of her own recovery process.

The deeply personal words from the Princess came as she met fellow patients at a cancer wellbeing centre at Colchester Hospital, helping to plant roses in a garden designed to help visitors find peace.

The Princess, who in January announced she was in remission from a undisclosed form of cancer, recently cancelled an appearance at Royal Ascot, with aides stressing that she had always made clear her return to public life would be staggered.

Describing a cancer diagnosis as ‘life changing’ and the treatment and recovery a ‘rollercoaster’, the Princess spoke of the importance of a holistic ‘mind, body and spirit’ approach.

She repeatedly emphasised the importance of patients and their families being able to find support through their illness, saying it was too often difficult to reach.

Kate, 43, looked stunning in a smart Blazé Milano beige blazer with pinstripes, retailing at around £1,000, and matching shirt as she visited the RHS’s Wellbeing Garden at Colchester Hospital today. 

The royal added tailored brown trousers and a black belt – while giving a more casual effect with rolled up sleeves and white trainers – and adding her engagement ring. 

Speaking to patients and volunteers inside the centre, she said: ‘There is a whole phase when you finish your treatment, everybody expects you to be better – go! But that’s not the case at all.’

She said: ‘You put on a sort of brave face, stoicism through treatment. Treatment’s done, then it’s like ‘I can crack on, get back to normal’ but actually the phase afterwards is really difficult.

‘You’re not necessarily under the clinical team any longer but you’re not able to function normally at home as you perhaps once used to.

‘And actually someone to help talk you through that, show you and guide you through that sort of phase that comes after treatment I think is really valuable.’

She added: ‘You have to find your new normal and that takes time.’

The centre provides therapy, community groups and holistic treatments including reflexology.

The Princess, speaking to therapist Amanda Green during a walkabout in heavy rain afterwards, disclosed that she had not yet tried reflexology but had undergone acupuncture as part of her own health journey.

The visit offered the Princess’s most personal and extensive insight into her own experience to date, seeing her reference her own ill health several times while offering empathy to other patients and families.

‘It’s life changing for anyone,’ she said. ‘Through first diagnosis or post treatment and things like that, it is life-changing experience both for the patient but also for the families as well.

‘And actually it sometimes goes unrecognised, you don’t necessarily, particularly when it’s the first time [of diagnosis], appreciate how much impact it is going to have.

‘You have to find your new normal and that takes time…and it’s a rollercoaster, it’s not one smooth plane, which you expect it to be. But the reality is it’s not, you go through hard times.

‘And to have a place like this to have the support network, through creativity and singing or gardening whatever it might be is so valuable and it’s great this community has it.

‘It would be great if lots of communities had this kind of support.’

Speaking to patients, including those whose cancer has returned and one who had lost his husband to cancer, Catherine asked how the centre had helped them.

‘That first time diagnosis is a very scary journey,’ she said, referring to the benefits of having an on-site hospital support network where many volunteers have had cancer themselves and survived. Many newly-diagnosed patients at Colchester Hospital now visit the centre immediately for counselling and advice.

‘To feel a sense of hope and positivity [from speaking to people who have already been through it] is such a positive thing in what is otherwise a very scary and daunting experience,’ the Princess said.

She added that ‘science has told us that the mind, body and spirit experience is so important,’ asking if the clinical team at the hospital had given any feedback about how the wellness centre had affected patients.

After around an hour at the centre, she moved into the RHS’s Wellbeing Garden at Colchester Hospital where she helped plant roses named after her.

Getting her hands dirty and asking if she could do a bit more work, the Princess dug alongside television garden designer Adam Frost and told him she was feeling ‘good’ and was pleased to be able to work outside.

In the pouring rain, as the engagement overran by about half an hour, she told hospital staff and patients who had waited outside to see her: ‘I’m just washing my hands – I’ll be back’.

She then undertook a walkabout, posing for selfies and group photographs in between asking people about their day.

Kensington Palace said she was there to ‘celebrate the incredible healing power of nature and raise awareness of the important role that spending time in nature plays in bringing us joy and supporting our mental, physical and spiritual wellbeing’.

Her visit coincides with the donation of 50 ‘Catherine’s Rose’ plants, named for The Princess by the RHS with funds from sales going to the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity, to Colchester Hospital. 

Kate even had the opportunity to plant the ‘Catherine Rose’ herself, alongside staff who volunteer in the garden. 

The coral-pink floribunda has a rich perfume with hints of Turkish Delight and mango, the RHS (Royal Horticultural Society) said in its announcement in May. 

Now, 500 ‘Catherine’s Rose’ plants will be donated to wellbeing and community gardens across the UK this summer, including Maggie’s gardens for people affected by cancer, East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices and Horatio’s Gardens for those living with spinal injuries. 

The Wellbeing Garden at Colchester Hospital, which opened in July 2024, is a relaxing and restorative space for NHS staff, patients and visitors. 

The garden is a vital hub for the community, offering activities for those working in or visiting the hospital and was created in partnership with the RHS, Colchester and Ipswich Hospitals Charity and NHS Charities Together, the latter of which is a joint patronage of The Prince and Princess of Wales. 

The Wellbeing Garden at Colchester, and the transformative impact it has on patients and NHS workers, forms part of the research for the RHS’ Blueprint for Wellbeing Gardens, which will launch in Spring next year. 

Kate herself has been making a slow and measured return to duties after revealing she is in remission from cancer. 

This has included a visit to the Royal Marsden Hospital back in January, where she underwent her treatment, as well as important events in the royal calendar, such as Trooping The Colour and the Order Of The Garter ceremony. 

The Princess arrived at Colchester Hospital with little fanfare, walking through the public garden as one mother told her little girl “that’s a real life Princess, there!”.

The hospital changed the programme slightly, inviting her inside the wellbeing centre in the hopes that the rain would ease off before the Princess joined the gardening.

The garden has been designed alongside a small lake, with ducks and ducklings walking among the visitors and a planting scheme including lavender, roses, salvia, allium and grasses.

When she did make it outside, however, she appeared unperturbed by the rain, and stood chatting with staff and members of the public so long that she was soaked.

Meeting staff inside, the Princess – who was incredibly chatty and confident in discussing her personal experiences – praised the continuity of care the hospital provided and the network of volunteers which saw former patients returning to help others.

“It must make a difference to people coming in here, in knowing there are people who have been through it too,” she said. “Even through the hard times and loss, there is a sense of hope and community through a space like this.”

“From personal experience,” the Princess added, holistic support during recovery “was that lifeline you need post treatment, when you’re not receiving continuous care.”

The centre includes support groups as well as massage, reflexology, a family practitioner, advice on wig fittings, and a “cancer choir”.

“It’s looking at treatment and recovery as complemented,” the Princess said. “Looking at it from a mind, body and spirit perspective really matters. It’s great, well done.”

Hearing from a group of patients who credited the centre with supporting them, the Princess added: “What seems to be really fantastic is that there is a real personal approach: what helps one person – acupuncture or something – might not help another. Others might want different support and to talk to someone.”

“Having gone through it myself”, she added, she could now better understand the challenges of finding support.

“Some people don’t have access and don’t necessarily know how this system can help them,” she said. “Joining the dots for patients and families…while there might be fantastic community work going on, if it’s bitty and there isn’t one place and one body bringing these support networks together, it’s hard to reach out, particularly when you’re vulnerable.

“I can see it has such a transformative effect.”

Hearing about the centre’s choir, the Princess added: “Having these creative avenues is really fantastic.”

The Princess carried a mug of tea around with her as she spoke to patients and volunteers, joking that “as a parent you know you’ll keep losing your cup of tea” otherwise.

“It’s not just the patients, it’s the family too,” she said.

“It’s not just the cancer care, treatment, healing, it’s about the whole person – mind, body and spirit.

“We know now that all those three dimensions matter to the recovery journey.”

Repeatedly returning to her message of how even when people think you are better you are often not behind the scenes, it was abundantly clear that Catherine had been keen to make a point that her recovery, like so many others, was not necessarily ‘straightforward’ and the public should bear with her.

The Wellbeing Garden at Colchester Hospital, which opened in July 2024, is intended to be a “relaxing and restorative space for NHS staff, patients and visitors” and hosts activities for those in or visiting the hospital .

The garden is taking part in research for the RHS’ Blueprint for Wellbeing Gardens, which will launch in spring next year.

Her visit today is the first time she’s been seen in public since pulling out of Royal Ascot unexpectedly last month. 

Kate had been expected to attend the Berkshire racing festival with her husband Prince William – and was even announced in the official carriage procession – before Kensington Palace confirmed she would not be attending after all. 

MailOnline understood at the time that the Princess was ‘disappointed’ not to be in attendance ‘but she has to find the right balance as she fully returns to public facing engagements’.

Racegoers had been hoping to see the Princess after the Prince of Wales was named as one of the figures awarding race prizes during the second day of the meet.

Ascot officials had confirmed at 12pm that the Princess was due to be in the second carriage in the royal procession with William, in a published carriage list.

But less than half an hour later, Kensington Palace confirmed just before 12.30pm that Kate would not be attending – and a revised carriage list was published by Ascot.

Royal aides insisted the original list had issued in ‘error’, according to the Daily Mail’s Rebecca English. 

‘On some levels I actually think this is a good reminder that she was really seriously ill last year and underwent a significant period of chemo. As anyone who has been through that experience will tell you, you can feel very unwell for a long time afterwards. It can take years [to recover],’ one source said. 

‘She wants to find the right balance and work with a greater degree of flexibility than before. 

‘This is a woman who plays a very important role in the monarchy [as Princess of Wales and future Queen], but in order for her to do it, both now and in the future, she needs to get this right,’ they said. 

The Princess returned to work last Wednesday as she privately received Melinda Gates – the former wife of Microsoft Founder Bill – at Windsor Castle, marking her return to official duties. 

But today marks her first interacting with the public since her surprise absence at the racing festival.  

As her visit today emphasises, Kate has shared how she turned to nature in the midst of her cancer battle for solace and support. 

In May, she reaffirmed her commitment to nature as she launched a new video revealing how she embraced the ‘healing power of nature’ during her cancer treatment. 

The series began with ‘Spring’, a three-minute film narrated by Catherine and including footage of her and Prince William on the Isle of Mull earlier this month.

The other three short films will be released across the course of the year, with Summer, Autumn and Winter editions in due course.

Previously referring to how she sought comfort and strength from being outdoors with her family during her cancer battle last year, Kate said: ‘Over the past year, nature has been my sanctuary.

‘The natural world’s capacity to inspire us, to nurture us and help us heal and grow is boundless and has been understood for generations.

‘It is through nature, that we can fully understand the true interconnectedness of all things, the importance of balance and the importance of renewal and resilience. Connecting to nature helps us to experience a deeper sense of ourselves, the world around us, and each other.’

She added: ‘Spring is a season of rebirth, of hope and new beginnings. From the dark days of winter, the outside world quietly awakens with new life, and there comes a sense of optimism, anticipation, and positive, hopeful change.

‘Just as nature revives and renews so too can we. Let us reconnect to nature and celebrate a new dawn within our hearts.

‘It is often from the smallest of seeds that the greatest change can happen, and in this ever-growing complex world, we need to hold on to what connects us all.

‘Spring is here, so let’s make the most of it together.’

The Princess of Wales had been receiving chemotherapy for an undisclosed form of cancer since late February last year with the King beginning his cancer care earlier that month following his diagnosis after treatment for an enlarged prostate.

Announcing in September her treatment had ended, Kate described in an emotional video message how the previous nine months had been ‘incredibly tough for us as a family’ and ‘doing what I can to stay cancer free is now my focus’.

William later said in a separate interview how 2024 had been ‘brutal’.

In January, following her visit to Royal Marsden, the princess said it was ‘a relief’ to be in remission and that she will ‘remain focused’ on recovery. 

Signing her note ‘C’, she said: ‘There is much to look forward to. Thank you to everyone for your continued support.’