She may have missed out on Royal Ascot last month, but Kate Middleton was on top form during an unannounced visit to the Royal Horticultural Society’s Wellbeing Garden at Colchester Hospital yesterday.
A big gardener herself – regularly exhibiting at Chelsea Flower Show – Kate, 43, has likely found solace in nature following her cancer diagnosis in March 2024 and attended the venue to speak about the healing power of nature and raise awareness of the benefits that spending time in nature can have.
Kate Middleton meeting the patients and staff at Colchester Hospital on 2 July ©Photo by STEFAN ROUSSEAU/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Whilst there, The Princess of Wales also opened up about how she’s coping following her announcement that she entered remission in January 2025 after completing her treatment in September 2024.
‘You put on a brave face, stoicism through treatment, treatments done, then it’s like “I can crack on, get back to normal”, but actually the phase afterwards is really difficult,’ she told patients and staff in the Cancer Wellbeing Centre in Colchester Hospital. ‘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.
‘But it’s life-changing for anyone, through first diagnosis or post treatment and things like that, it is a 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 – appreciate how much impact it is going to have.’
Kate Middleton has always spoken passionately about the benefits of gardening ©Photo by Stefan Rousseau – WPA Pool/Getty Images
She continued, ‘You have to find your new normal and that takes time… and it’s a rollercoaster. It’s not one smooth plain, 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.’
Daisy Hall is a News and Entertainment writer on Grazia specialising in TV and film meaning that you can count on Daisy for the latest (and best) recommendations
