Kate Middleton surprised fans with an appearance at Colchester Hospital in Essex, England, on July 2, and along with planting roses named after her in the facility's special wellbeing garden, she made some frank comments about what life is like for cancer patients after going through treatment. While the Princess of Wales doesn't often speak about how her world has changed following her 2024 cancer diagnosis, one royal expert is praising the royal for her "refreshing" remarks.
Although she spoke in general terms rather than using "I" statements, the princess shared that those in remission from cancer struggle just as much after treatment as they do during—a fitting comment after she abruptly pulled out of a Royal Ascot appearance at the last minute in June. The Princess of Wales told people at the hospital that "you put on a sort of brave face" throughout chemotherapy but when it's all over, "the phase afterwards is really, really difficult."
Reflecting on the royal's admission, former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond praised Kate for her honesty. "The Princess has decided to speak frankly and emotionally about all that she has been, and is still, going through," Bond said. "This is a break with royal convention, but her words have a reach and an impact that virtually no other cancer survivor could match"
The Princess of Wales planted a "Catherine's Rose" bush named in her honor during her visit to the hospital.
The royal posed for photos with hospital staff on July 2.
"You have to find your new normal and that takes time," the Princess of Wales said, adding that for cancer patients, life post-treatment is "a roller coaster, it's not smooth, like you expect it to be."
"I think it’s incredibly refreshing for us to be told exactly what is going on and how Catherine is feeling," Bond added. “Now we can all understand that there have been, and will be, times when the Princess just doesn’t feel able to appear in public. She is, in her own words, still riding a rollercoaster and trying to come to terms with her 'new normal'."
After much public scrutiny surrounding her return to work, Bond noted that the public shouldn't expect Princess Kate's life to bounce back quickly.
“Other cancer patients have spoken of this difficult transition from being under intense medical supervision to being told the treatment is over and everyone expects you to return to normal life," she said. "As the princess makes clear, 'normal' is not the same for her as it once was."
