The Princess of Wales shared a poignant moment with a young mother as she celebrated completing her cancer treatment at a UK hospital, making rare comments about her own battle with the disease.
On Thursday, Princess Kate, 44, visited The Christie cancer centre in Manchester and joined Claire Lorente, 30, as she rang the bell to mark the end of her chemotherapy. Kate, who revealed she was in remission from an undisclosed form of cancer last year, hugged the mum-of-one and told her: "Well done! Well done, you."
Claire began to cry and apologised to the princess, to which Kate said: "Please don't worry. What a journey. It's been a tough one. What an amazing day... you've done brilliantly." Kate then hugged Claire's partner, Pablo, and told him: "I know it's just as hard for family and loved ones. It's hard for the patients, for us to, you know. I know how hard it was on the children and my parents, alongside patients. You go through it with us as patients."
Meeting Claire's baby son, Enzo, the princess said: "Isn't Mummy brave?" She then turned back towards the patient and spurred her on to ring the bell: "Come on, this is your day. You can do it." Claire and Pablo cried and held hands as she rang the bell, while Kate clapped her hands and appeared emotional.
During her visit to the NHS cancer centre, Kate met a host of patients, family members and staff to find out about the care offered there. She joined in with an art session alongside six patients and opened up about her own experience with cancer. "It changes you in so many ways physically, but also emotionally and psychologically, and actually finding ways to express that and to explore that is quite difficult," she confessed. "To do this in a clinical setting is really important."
Kate also visited the cancer centre's well-being garden, as well as the Teenage and Young Adult Unit, which has facilities including a music room, gym and lounge. Later in the day, Kate took to Instagram to say the visit had been "moving" and thanked patients for sharing their stories. "Meeting patients, families and staff was a powerful reminder that healing is about so much more than treatment alone," she wrote. "A cancer diagnosis affects every part of life, in mind, body and the deeper part of ourselves. The way we process fear, uncertainty and change is deeply personal."
The Princess of Wales was diagnosed with an undisclosed type of cancer in March 2024 after undergoing abdominal surgery. She completed a course of preventative chemotherapy and announced that she was in remission in January 2025.
