Kate Middleton Opens Up About Cancer’s Hidden Toll on Her Children
Kate Middleton made a rare comment about her experience with cancer while speaking with a woman who’d just finished chemotherapy.
On June 4, the Princess of Wales made a surprise visit to patients at a cancer treatment center in Manchester. She was there as Claire Lorente, 30, rang a bell to mark the end of her chemo treatment.
“This is your day. This is your day,” she said. “Ring that bell girl.”
Cancer is ‘hard for the family,’ Kate Middleton says
Kate – who revealed in March 2024 that she’d been diagnosed with an unspecified type of cancer – bonded with the mother and opened up about her own health challenges.
“Well done,” she said as she gave the other woman a hug. “What a journey What an amazing day.”
“It’s tough,” she added, before acknowledging Claire’s partner.
“I know it’s as hard for the family and loved ones,” she told the man. “I know how hard it was for the children and my parents. You go through it with them.”
The princess, whose announced in early 2025 that her cancer was in remission, also noted how challenging a cancer diagnosis can be for the patient.
“You need to support yourself alongside all the things you can’t control,” she said, according to Hello! “Your body changes so much, not just physically, emotionally, but the deeper side of ourselves. It puts so much in perspective and you hold onto what’s important.”
Prince William opens up about how his family coped with Kate’s cancer diagnosis
Last year, Kate’s husband, Prince William, commented on how he and his wife reassured their three children – Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis – during her treatment.
“Everyone has their own coping mechanisms for these sorts of things, and children are constantly learning and adapting,” he said during an appearance on Eugene Levy’s The Reluctant Traveler series in October 2025. “We try to make sure we give them the security and the safety that they need. We’re a very open family, so we talk about things that bother us, and things that trouble us, but you never quite know the knock-on effects that it can have. It’s just important to be there for each other and to kind of reassure the children that everything is OK.”
Last year, Kate opened up about navigating unexpected health issues. She noted that even once treatment was officially over, life didn’t return to normal.
“You put on a sort of brave face (with) stoicism through treatment. (When) treatment’s done, then it’s like, ‘I can crack on, get back to normal again,’” she told patients during a hospital visit in July 2025 (via Today).
“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,” she continued.
“You have to find your new normal and that takes time,” she added. “…and it’s a roller coaster.”
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