Kate, Princess of Wales, Says Nature Gave Her Hope in Darkest Times
The Princess of Wales told Country Life magazine her cancer recovery would 'not be linear' and called nature her sanctuary. She spoke to author Robert Macfarlane in a special issue guest-edited by Prince William, published Wednesday.
Kate, Princess of Wales, has spoken about her cancer recovery in a rare interview with Country Life magazine, saying nature gave her hope in the "darkest of times." The issue, guest-edited by Prince William, was published on Wednesday.
It is a rare personal account from the 44-year-old royal. Kate went public with her diagnosis in March 2024 and announced she was in remission just under a year later.
Told recovery would not be linear
Kate spoke to author Robert Macfarlane about finding peace outdoors. She described what doctors told her in hospital.
"I was told in hospital that my recovery would not be linear," she said. "There will be good days and bad days, that it will take time. This is the same in nature." She added that nature shows how "periods of rest, reflection and renewal are equally as important as moments of growth."
Nature as a sanctuary
Kate said nature offers something unique. "It doesn't ask anything of us. It doesn't judge us or expect us to perform," she said. "It really has been my sanctuary and a place I've instinctively wanted to go."
Asked where she finds hope, she pointed to lessons from nature: that despite life's challenges, "we are not alone and that we're interconnected with something bigger than ourselves."
Macfarlane told her he found hope in watching communities help protect rivers. Kate replied: "It is the sense of hope we find in the darkest of times. We need to find the things that we can do alongside others, ways to connect and give back."
Childhood and parenting
Kate traced her love of the outdoors to childhood. She recalled playing in streams, picking blackberries and spending time "alone in my own world, enjoying the simplicity of ordinary things." She said that gave her a sense of freedom "that is hard to find elsewhere."
She applies the same idea to her children, Prince George, 13, Princess Charlotte, 11, and eight-year-old Prince Louis. "It is something I remind myself to do with my own children; to give them freedom to explore, rather than constantly telling them what to see or what to think," she said.
Kate also shared a drawing of a common kingfisher by Prince George. She has long championed time outdoors in her work on early childhood development.
She has spoken before about nature's role in her healing. On a visit to Colchester Hospital last year, she said she had tried alternative therapies during treatment and noted that cancer care is personal: "what helps one person – acupuncture or something – might not help another."
