The Princess of Wales made a deeply emotional visit to the Royal Marsden Hospital in London this morning, where it can now be revealed she has been undergoing her own cancer treatment.
On her first major solo engagement in more than a year, Catherine, 43, met with patients to show her support and personally thank staff for their ‘exceptional care, support and compassion’ over the past 12 months.
As she walked through the main entrance to the hospital’s Chelsea site, the Princess – dressed in a long brown winter coat and heels – was heard to say: ‘Coming in the front entrance here, having made so many quiet, private visits, actually it’s quite nice.’
Sitting down to talk to one lady who was undergoing treatment, wearing a cold cap to prevent hair loss, Catherine said: ‘When did you first start treatment? Oh, today? How are you finding it?’
She hugged one well-wisher and told them: ‘I wanted to come and show my support for the amazing work that’s going on here and for those who are going through treatment and having such a hard time. Are you OK? There is light at the end of that tunnel. Very nice to meet you and best of luck. You are in the best of hands.’
Chatting with staff, Catherine said: ‘You think treatment’s finished, crack on with that… daily tasks, but that’s still like a real challenge. And talking… the words totally disappear… understanding that as a patient, yes there are side effects around treatment, but actually there are more long-term side effects.’
And she told one patient: ‘The resilience you need to get through, first of all, a small taster of what you’ve gone through…. It’s to keep coming back….to be as positive as you are. The treatments are really so different and so varied, it impacts families differently.’
Another lady told her: ‘I think you’ve managed the children amazingly well,’ to which she replied: ‘Oh, that’s kind.’
It came as Kensington Palace revealed that the Princess will join her husband as joint royal patron of the Marsden, a role that Prince William‘s mother Diana, Princess of Wales, once held before her.
A spokesman told the Mail: ‘The Princess wanted to make the journey to both show her gratitude to the incredible team, but also highlight the world leading care and treatment the Marsden provides.’
As revealed by the Mail on Sunday earlier this month, today’s visit is one of a small number of engagements Catherine will undertake this year as part of a deliberately slow and measured return to duties
Indeed, Kensington Palace were keen to stress today that that the guidance around her return to public-facing engagements has not changed and that it would continue to be ‘gradual’.
‘Today was about visiting the Marsden to reflect on her own personal journey,’ an aide emphasised.
During the visit, which overran as the Princess got sidetracked talking to patients and staff, she shared some personal details during conversations about treatment.
Talking to Katherine Field, 45, who was wearing a cold cap during her chemotherapy to preserve her hair, the Princess gestured to her own arm and chest to discuss the ‘port’ mechanism to deliver the medicine.
‘I got so attached to it,’ the Princess said, joking that she had hesitated when finally told ‘you can have it taken out’ now.
She is not thought to have used a cold cap herself.
The Princess remarked numerous times about the importance of positivity during treatment, saying she had been encouraged by many people to keep up the things that bring her joy as best she can through ‘good days and bad days’.
She spoke of how the diagnosis and treatment could be ‘harder’ for loved ones, and how difficult it had been to leap back into normal life after chemotherapy finished.
The Princess arrived at the hospital at 11.15am, greeted at the door by Sir Douglas Flint, Chairman of The Royal Marsden and Professor Nicholas Van As, its medical director.
She joked that it was a novelty for her to enter through the front door, having made ‘so many quiet visits’ in ‘secrecy’, adding that it was ‘quite nice’ to see the proper reception after all that time.
‘I’m so grateful for all the care and support I’ve received here,’ she said.
She was shown around the hospital by Mairead Griffin, Chief Nurse at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust.
Her first stop was at the Medical Day Unit, where dozens of patients were in for their chemotherapy and immunotherapy cycles.
‘It’s really tough,’ she was heard to say. ‘It’s such a shock.’
Many of the conversations saw both Princess and patient smiling and swapping information about their treatment, both seeming pleased to have a met someone who knew how they might be feeling.
The Princess, who was animated and talkative throughout, let patients lead the way in their interactions, offering a handshake and moving to a hug when they appeared to need it.
The Princess of Wales talks with members of staff during a visit to the Royal Marsden Hospital
She had a particularly lively conversation with Katherine Field, a 45-year-old breast cancer patient who was in hospital with her friend Rachael Burns for company, with her observations about the range of cancers and treatments on offer giving way to chatting about hobbies and positive mindsets.
Speaking of the feeling of companionship among patients, the Princess said: ‘I had to do it privately and quietly but being on a ward like this has to be reassuring in a way?’
‘Everyone said to me, please keep a positive mindset, it makes such a difference,’ the Princess said.
She added that she had also been advised to ‘make sure you have all your warm things [clothes] on’ for chemotherapy because of the side effects.
‘They’ve been fantastic,’ the Princess said of the Marsden. ‘You feel in good hands.’
She asked each of the patients how their families were doing, how many rounds of treatment they were having, and how they were finding it.
She was heard to say ‘oh my goodness’ as she heard about details of diagnosis, smiling, grimacing, shaking her head and furrowing her brow at the more difficult or emotional details.
Of the importance of looking after oneself during and after treatment, she said: ‘I really felt like I needed to get the sun. You need loads of water and loads of sunlight.’
When Katherine’s machinery started beeping during their conversation, signalling treatment was needed, the Princess jumped and said: ‘I recognise that beep!’
The Princess went on to have a quiet conversation with Peter Burton, 58, a myeloma patient, leaning in to listen carefully.
The Princess of Wales talks with patient Richard Bosworth at the Royal Marsden Hospital today
‘The body is amazing at telling us ‘you need to take time out’,’ she was heard to say.
She went on to sit with Richard Bosworth, a 77-year-old myeloma patient, and his wife Ruth, who immediately congratulated the Princess in managing her three young children ‘amazingly well’ during her own public illness.
‘Oh that’s kind,’ Kate replied. ‘Thank you for saying that.’
The Princess asked about the trial Mr Bosworth was on, and the impact on their lives.
Kerr Melia, 62, who has gastroesophageal cancer and told the Princess he had been diagnosed five years ago.
She laughed as he greeted her with an enthusiastic ‘how are you!’, replying that she was doing well, but recalling the cycle of treatment that meant ‘sometimes you feel relatively well, and then you have another one.’
‘Sometimes from the outside we all think you’ve finished treatment and you go back to things,’ she added. ‘But it’s hard to get back to normal.’
‘You’re a strong man,’ she told him. ‘I’ve had a tiny taste of what you’ve been through, and you’ve had to keep coming back.’
Repeating a conversation she had with numerous patients, she said it was important for Mr Melia to keep ‘doing the things that give you joy’.
‘It makes you appreciate all the small things in life that you take for granted,’ she said of illness.
The Princess went on to sit down with two other patients without the press present, and took her time leaving the ward after stopping for handshakes, chats, and some selfies.
Before sitting down with medical staff – ward sister Alice Whitaker, staff nurse Keith Angus, healthcare assistant Stephen Somera, medicines management technician Yvonne Phillips, senior occupational therapist Tamsin Longley, lead clinical nurse specialist for breast cancer.
Sarah Adomah, Consultant Clinical Psychologist Dr Justin Grayer, and medical oncologist Professor James Larkin – she was introduced especially to Denise, who was responsible for refreshments.
‘Just as important,’ the Princess said, shaking her hand and smiling.
The group sat down on chair set out in a circle, to discuss work and research being carried out at the hospital.
Speaking of receiving a diagnosis, the Princess said: ‘It’s the uncertainly of that initial diagnosis. It’s such a wealth of information. Understanding the diagnosis, it’s a massive amount of information to take on as a patient. Having that continuity, in the clinical setting and outside in the home setting, is so important.’
The Princess of Wales during her visit to the Royal Marsden Hospital in London this morning
Of the wider impact of treatment on patients, the Princess added: ‘You think the treatment has finished and you can crack on and get back to normal, but that’s still a real challenge.
‘The words totally disappear. And understanding that as a patient, yes there are side effects around treatment but actually there are more long term side effects.’
In a discussion about holistic care, she repeated that the ‘continuity is so important, on good days and bad days’.
She added: ‘I feel like it’s sometimes for the loved ones around us. They need support just as much as I did as the patient.’
The Princess also praised the Marsden staff highly, saying she had heard from many patients how much their care had helped.
‘Whilst they don’t want to be there, they’re very grateful for everything the Marsden does,’ she said.
Her final official introduction was to Scout, the on-hand Pets As Therapy dog.
Bending over to stroke Scout who offered a paw, the Princess said: ‘I bet patients absolutely love her.’
She seemed surprised to see the number of people waiting to see her outside of the medical treatment room, stopping to say hello.
As she left the hospital, the Princess made a mini impromptu walkabout among patients and their supporters who had gathered in the corridor to see her.
Asking about their treatment, she leaned in for a tight hug with Rebecca Mendlesohn, 57, who is on a trial for secondary cancer – breast and liver – and Tina Adumou, whose 19-year-old daughter is currently in ICU and broke down into tears when she told the Princess about it.
Putting an arm around her, Kate asked questions and reassured her that she was in the best possible place. ‘I wish I could do more,’ she said, with feeling. ‘It will get better. There is light at the end of the tunnel.’
‘Best of luck,’ she said as she left. ‘You are in the best hands.’
The Princess of Wales talks with patient Peter Burton at the Royal Marsden Hospital today
It comes after the Princess said in September upon completing her chemotherapy treatment: ‘To all those who are continuing their own cancer journey – I remain with you, side by side, hand in hand. Out of darkness, can come light, so let that light shine bright.’
It is understood that the visit was always planned to be a solo engagement for the Princess, even though her husband is already patron, as it was felt important for her to visit the Marsden independently to reflect on her own ‘personal journey’. The decision has William’s full backing and support.
The Princess announced in September 2024 that she had completed a gruelling course of ‘preventative chemotherapy’ after doctors found evidence of cancer following serious abdominal surgery in January.
In a moving personal statement she spoke openly about the ‘incredibly tough’ year she had endured and the ‘complex, scary and unpredictable’ nature of her diagnosis and treatment.
Throughout it all, she made clear, her and William’s priority has been to protect their three young children.
The palace has not yet revealed details of the cancer she was diagnosed with or the nature of the operation she first underwent other than to describe it as ‘planned abdominal surgery’.
However it was serious enough to require several months of recuperation alone, even before her cancer diagnosis and has left the Princess warning that her road to recovery is ongoing.
