Princess Catherine has revealed that spending time in nature made a “big difference” to her mental health while she was recovering from cancer. She made the comments during a visit to London’s Royal Marsden Hospital in September, where she was treated, and where she met patients and staff.
Nature and holistic care
The princess, who announced her cancer diagnosis in March 2024 and said she was in remission in January 2025, reflected on how being outdoors supported her alongside chemotherapy. She said there are many elements to cancer care.
“It makes a big difference, the impact of nature, the impact of good nutrition, good ongoing support around you when it’s really difficult to manage the trials and tribulations of medical treatments… it makes a big difference,” she said.
Fundraising for the Royal Marsden
Earlier this summer, Princess Catherine raised funds for the Royal Marsden by completing the National Three Peaks Challenge in June. The challenge involves scaling the highest mountains in Scotland, England and Wales within 24 hours. She donated the money raised to support holistic cancer care for patients.
The funds are intended to help build a new specialist centre for Holistic Wellbeing and Recovery as part of a £200 million development of the site. Royal Marsden chairman Sir Douglas Flint thanked the princess for her fundraising efforts.
Gratitude and patronage
“This was my small way of being able to give back and say thank you to you. I had incredible care here and support from a huge team and I'm really really grateful on a personal level. But also the holistic care, the treatments and therapeutic support alongside the clinical pathway is so important,” the princess said.
The Royal Marsden is globally recognised for its research and leadership in cancer treatments and technologies, consistently ranked among the world’s top ten specialised hospitals. It operates from two centres in London, in Chelsea and Sutton, as well as a Medical Daycare Unit at Kingston Hospital.
On its website, the hospital says: “Their Royal Highnesses, The Prince and Princess of Wales are our Joint Patrons. HRH The Prince of Wales has been President of The Royal Marsden since 2007, seeing first-hand on many occasions the world-leading work that we deliver every day for patients and their families. We are delighted that HRH The Princess of Wales, having been through her own cancer journey, is now joining him and together, they will be Joint Patrons of the hospital.”
