The Princess of Wales is now in remission following her cancer recovery. And in 2025, the 43-year-old mother of three has been gradually scaling up her official duties.
However, an unexpected cancellation of her appearance at Ascot last month sparked concern, with royal insiders describing the situation as a "wake up call" in her recovery.
"Kate is recalibrating her entire life, her entire work-life balance," a former royal staff member reportedly told the Daily Beast at the time. "Wednesday was a wake-up call, not a one-off.
"She has never found the public appearances, and the forensic attention and criticism that goes with them, at all easy to deal with," the source continued. "And it was just too much this week."
Princess Kate did not comment about her cancellation at the time, but during a royal outing this week, she spoke candidly about the difficulties of returning to normal life. And according to royal experts, her words subtly sent the public an important message.
"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'," Princess Kate recalled during her visit to RHS's Wellbeing Garden at Colchester Hospital. "But actually the phase afterwards is really difficult.
"You have to find your new normal and that takes time," she added. "It's a roller coaster - it's not one smooth plain, which you expect it to be but the reality is it's not. You go through hard times."
Princess Kate's deeply personal comments certainly "broke with royal convention". But according to royal expert Jennie Bond, they also sent the message that she is still riding the "roller coaster" and will experience both good days and bad days.
"I think it’s incredibly refreshing for us to be told exactly what is going on and how Catherine is feeling," Bond explained to The Mirror. "Now we can all understand that there have been, and will be, times when the Princess just doesn’t feel able to appear in public. She is, in her own words, still riding a rollercoaster and trying to come to terms with her 'new normal'.
"By speaking out, Catherine is turning her 'daunting and scary' experience into something positive that will hopefully help others," she later continued. "And I think everyone will now show a bit more understanding... As the princess makes clear, 'normal' is not the same for her as it once was."
We will continue to update this story.
