It’s been a challenging few years for Kate Middleton. After announcing her cancer diagnosis last year (amid wild, often invasive speculation about her whereabouts), she largely retreated from public life to focus on her treatment. She finished chemotherapy in September and officially announced she was in remission in January — but that doesn’t necessarily mean her life went right back to normal.
Yesterday, in her first public appearance since mid-June, Middleton spoke candidly about life in remission. On a visit to the Wellbeing Garden at Colchester Hospital in Essex, she talked to patients and volunteers about their experiences, and also, according to People, her own recovery. “You put on a sort of brave face, stoicism through treatment. Treatment’s done, then it’s like, ‘I can crack on, get back to normal,’ but actually, the phase afterwards is really, really difficult,” she said. “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.”
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Middleton is slowly returning to her royal duties but prompted concern after pulling out of a Royal Ascot appearance last minute in June, a few days after she attended the Trooping of the Colour. On Wednesday, she said of her recovery, “You have to find your new normal, and that takes time … and it’s a roller coaster, it’s not smooth like you expect it to be. But the reality is you go through hard times.”
