The Princess of Wales hosted a small tea party at Windsor Castle last week to celebrate remarkable people who successfully completed the Three Peaks Challenge. Catherine, who completed the endurance event that involves climbing the highest peaks in Scotland, England and Wales within 24 hours, invited some of the people she met during her own climb in June.
A video of the special afternoon was shared by Kensington Palace, accompanied by a personal message from the princess in which she said that the challenge was a "powerful reminder that recovery is rarely a journey we make alone".
Guests included Ted Haslam and Sean McCormick
Those invited for tea and cake included Ted Haslam, whom Catherine met several times during her challenge. Ted completed the Three Peaks Challenge while being pushed and carried in his wheelchair by his father, Pete, and 15 family members and friends, raising money for the children's charity Molly Ollys.
Also invited was Sean McCormick, whom the Princess met at the beginning of her challenge this summer. Sean was part of a group raising money for his friend's nephew, who had been diagnosed with cancer.
Princess's message on resilience and hope
Catherine said in a message accompanying the video: "It was a pleasure to welcome other Three Peaks Challenge participants and their families to Windsor Castle. Behind every summit was a personal story of resilience, determination and hope.
"Listening to their experiences of the challenge and their reasons for taking it on was a powerful reminder that recovery is rarely a journey we make alone, and of the importance of the people who walk alongside us along the way. C."
Other participants celebrated
Other people invited to the celebratory tea party included Albie-Junior, who completed the challenge this August in around 22 hours to raise money for his local football club. Albie-Junior was born without a fibula, and his foot was amputated when he was a toddler.
Trish Patterson also completed her mammoth Three Peaks Challenge just a few days after the Princess's challenge this summer. She ran between each peak, and broke the existing record by nine hours and raised money for Mind Over Mountains, an organisation Catherine met earlier this year, in memory of her close friend.
The future Queen completed the challenge in the summer to "explore life beyond" her cancer diagnosis and to raise funds for the hospital that treated her for the disease. Catherine was diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer at the start of 2024, and in January 2026, she revealed she was in remission.
Earlier this month, the princess visited the Royal Marsden Cancer charity and said that completing the Three Peaks Challenge was a "small way" to give something back to the hospital which had treated her for cancer.
"This was my small way of being able to give back and say thank you," she said while visiting the London hospital to hear how the funds she raised would be used to help the development of a new specialist Centre for Holistic Wellbeing and Recovery. The princess added: "I had incredible care here and support from a huge team, and I'm really grateful on a personal level."
