Earlier in the month, the Princess of Wales made a poignant visit to the RHS’s Wellbeing Garden at Colchester Hospital. The announcement was previously unannounced and during her time there, the royal planted some ‘Catherine’s Roses’, which are named after her.
Part of the royal’s visit was also to celebrate the incredible healing power of nature and raise awareness of the important role that spending time in nature plays in bringing us joy and supporting our mental, physical and spiritual wellbeing.
As she got into the gardening, Kate was asked whether she would like to wear a pair of gloves; however, she turned down the request stating that she wanted to “feel the earth”.
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Fans were impressed with the royal’s choice, as one penned: “Not afraid to get dirty, she’s more daring and willing to try exotic foods, loves sports, she is like the coolest woman ever!!”
A second commented: “Great on you Catherine for not worrying about your nails. You are one in a million,” and a third added: “Just love her, William found an absolutely diamond and I cannot wait till she’s my queen.”
Colchester visit
Kate’s outing was particularly moving for the royal as she met the hospital’s cancer patients. The mum-of-three was diagnosed with cancer last year, but following her treatment, she confirmed that she is now in remission.
“You put on a sort of brave face, stoicism through treatment, treatments done, then it’s like ‘I can crack on, get back to normal’ but actually the phase afterwards is really, is really you know difficult,” Kate told patients.
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“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 actually someone to help talk you through that, show you and guide you through that sort of phase that comes after treatment I think is really valuable.”
She added: “But it’s life changing for anyone, through first diagnosis or post treatment and things like that, it is life changing experience, both for the patient but also for the families as well. And actually it sometimes goes unrecognised, you don’t necessarily, particularly when it’s the first time, appreciate how much impact it is going to have.
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“You have to find your new normal and that takes time…and it’s a rollercoaster it’s not one smooth plain, which you expect it to be. But the reality is it’s not, you go through hard times.
“And to have a place like this to have the support network, through creativity and singing or gardening whatever it might be is so valuable and it’s great this community has it, it would be great if lots of communities had this kind of support.”
Getting the right balance
Kate is still finding the right balance between recovery and her busy work life, with the royal dropping out of a scheduled appearance at Royal Ascot.
However, over the weekend, she was able to make a double appearance at Wimbledon in order to watch both the men’s and the women’s finals. She also made an appearance during the week’s state visit from French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte.
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Royal author Robert Jobson told HELLO! last week: “The Princess’s importance to Brand Britain is huge and her presence at these events gives them a vibrancy and an energy. The interaction between her and Macron sort of says it all, doesn’t it? There’s a story there, there’s an interest.
“Her presence is really important and it will be the same when President Trump visits in September.”
