The Princess of Wales shared details of her cancer treatment as she met with four other patients on a visit to the hospital where she was treated on Tuesday. Kate swapped stories about their time at the Royal Marsden Hospital in Chelsea, west London, as she visited a year on from having major abdominal surgery.
“It’s really tough,” she told one patient who was having chemotherapy. “It’s such a shock. Everyone said to me please keep a positive mindset, it makes such a difference,” Kate said. She added “when I came in everyone said make sure you have all your warm things (clothes) on” because of the side effects.
The Princess asked patients about details of their treatment, trials, wellbeing, and asked after their families. “Oh my goodness,” she said, shaking her head, as she heard accounts of difficult, long treatment.
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Of the importance of looking after yourself during and after treatment, Kate said: “I really felt like I needed to get the sun. You need loads of water and loads of sunlight.”
When one woman’s machinery started beeping during their conversation, signalling treatment was needed, the princess remarked: “I recognise that beep.”
Hearing about one man’s diagnosis, the Princess of Wales said: “The body is amazing at telling us ‘you need to take time out’.”
Asked how she was feeling, Kate replied that she was doing well, but recalled the cycle of treatment saying “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. But it’s hard to get back to normal”.
She told several patients it was so important 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 a cancer diagnosis.
The Princess also spoke to doctors and nurses involved in care and research, as well as pilot projects at the Marsden to improve holistic care.
Speaking of receiving a diagnosis, she said: “It’s the uncertainty 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.”
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, the Princess of Wales 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 Prince and Princess of Wales have become Joint Patrons of The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, the specialist cancer hospital -Credit:Chris Jackson/PA Wire
Kate also praised the Marsden staff, 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.
She was also introduced 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.”
The surprise official solo engagement – the princess’s first of 2025 – was described as an important moment in Kate’s “personal journey”. It had not been previously disclosed that Kate, who underwent chemotherapy last year, was treated at the Marsden – a world-leading state-of-the art cancer centre known for its pioneering research.
A Kensington Palace spokesperson said: “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.”
Kate, dressed in a long dark brown tartan coat and burgundy polo neck and skirt, said as she arrived at the hospital’s main entrance: “I was just saying, coming in the front entrance here, having made so many quiet, private visits, actually it’s quite nice.”
One woman told the princess as she sat with patients and their families on the ward: “I think you’ve managed the children amazingly well.” Kate replied: “Oh that’s kind.”
The princess added: “The treatments are really so different and so varied, it impacts families differently.” Kate was said to have wanted to show her support in person to those going through cancer treatment.