Princess of Wales visits hospital in London where she was treated for cancer
The Princess of Wales has visited the hospital where she was treated for cancer to thank staff and meet patients in what palace aides called an important moment in her “personal journey”.
During her unannounced visit to the Royal Marsden in London, Catherine shared her shock at her own diagnosis and urged patients to stay positive and “do the things that bring you joy”.
It was not previously announced in which hospital the princess, who underwent chemotherapy last year, was treated. When she arrived at the main entrance of the hospital, she said, “It’s actually really nice to come through the main entrance here after so many quiet, private visits.”
Sharing details of her own treatment, she told a chemotherapy patient: “It’s really hard. It’s such a shock. Everyone said to me: please stay positive, it makes such a difference.”
She added: “When I came in, everyone said to wear all your warm stuff (clothes)” because of the side effects of chemotherapy.
On the importance of taking care of yourself during and after treatment, she revealed: “I really felt like I needed the sun. You need a lot of water and a lot of sunlight.”
Catherine said she was doing well, but recalled the treatment cycle, saying, “Sometimes you feel relatively good, and then you have another one.” Sometimes from the outside we all think that you are done with the treatment and you get back to things. But it’s hard to get back to normal.”
She told several patients that it was important to “keep doing the things that bring you joy.” She added: “It makes you appreciate all the little things in life that you take for granted,”
When she received a diagnosis, the princess said: ‘It’s the uncertainty of that first diagnosis. It’s such a wealth of information. Understanding the diagnosis is a huge amount of information for you as a patient to process. That continuity, both in the clinical setting and outside in the home situation, is so important.”
She added: “You think the treatment is over and you can move on and get back to normal, but that’s still a real challenge. The words disappear completely. And understanding that as a patient there may be side effects surrounding the treatment, but that there are actually more side effects in the long term.”
A spokesperson for Kensington Palace said: “The Princess wanted to make the trip to show her gratitude to the incredible team, but also to highlight the industry-leading care and treatment the Marsden provides.”
Catherine met with medical teams working in various roles at the hospital’s Chelsea site, and spent about an hour chatting with staff and speaking to patients.
The visit came almost a year after the Princess was admitted to the London Clinic for abdominal surgery on January 16, 2024, and marked the news that she, along with her husband, has become co-patron of the Royal Marsden Hospital Trust. While recovering from that surgery, she was diagnosed with cancer.
Kensington Palace was keen to emphasize that her return to public duties would be gradual. “Today was about visiting Marsden to reflect on her own personal journey,” a spokesperson said.