Kate Middleton continued her gradual return to public duties this week with a candid admission about her recovery from cancer.
The Princess of Wales visited England’s Colchester Hospital on Wednesday, where she spoke at length about the “roller coaster” she’s experienced in the year after going public with her cancer diagnosis.
“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, really difficult,” she said, as seen in footage of the event shared by “Good Morning America” and other outlets.
“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,” she added. “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.”
Elsewhere in her remarks, Middleton alluded to the challenges of finding “your new normal” after undergoing treatment.
“It’s a roller coaster, it’s not smooth, like you expect it to be,” she said. “But the reality is you go through hard times.”
The Princess of Wales’ visit coincided with the opening of Colchester Hospital’s Wellbeing Garden, billed as a “restorative space” for those working in or visiting the hospital. She helped plant several “Catherine’s Rose” plants that were donated to the facility for the occasion.
Middleton went public with her cancer diagnosis in March 2024. Though she has never clarified what type of cancer she had, she confirmed in September that she’d completed chemotherapy. In January, she shared that her cancer was in remission.
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Her Colchester Hospital appearance comes just weeks after she canceled plans to attend Royal Ascot, a five-day series of horse races, alongside husband Prince William and other members of the British royal family.
A royal source later told ABC News that Middleton was “disappointed not to be there today but she has to find the right balance as she fully returns to public facing engagements.”
