FINDING HER NEW NORMAL

Two weeks after cancelling a scheduled appearance at Royal Ascot as she aims to strike a balance between her recovery from illness and public duties, the Princess of Wales spoke about putting on a “brave face” and finding her “new normal” as she gave an extraordinary insight into her experience of cancer.

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Her candid admission came as she made a previously unannounced visit to Colchester Hospital last week to visit its new Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) wellbeing garden - her first appearance since pulling out of Ascot.

Chatting to cancer patients, volunteers and staff at the hospital’s wellbeing centre, Kate, 43, spoke openly about how experiencing cancer was “life-changing” for patients and their loved ones.

She underwent six months of preventative chemotherapy in 2024 after being diagnosed with the disease, in a year that her husband, the Prince of Wales, described as “brutal” for his family.

The Princess said: “You put on a brave face; stoicism through treatment. The treatment’s done, then it’s like: 'I can crack on, get back to normal.' But actually, the phase afterwards is really difficult.

“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 having someone to help talk you through that and guide you through the phase that comes after treatment is really valuable.”