The Princess of Wales made an emotional visit to one of Europe's leading cancer centres in Manchester this afternoon to meet patients receiving treatment.
Visit to Christie NHS Foundation Trust
Kate travelled to the Christie NHS Foundation Trust to 'highlight the healing power of holistic care alongside clinical care', according to Kensington Palace. The princess was diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer early in 2024, for which she had chemotherapy, and revealed she was in remission in January 2025.
She began her visit to the trust's Withington site by meeting staff and patients currently undergoing chemotherapy at the Oak Road treatment centre. The future queen spoke with patients receiving complementary therapy and heard about how this has been helping their physical and emotional wellbeing.
Art and Wellbeing
Kate then visited the art room and met resident artist Patricia Mountford as she was invited to join a session to learn how creative expression can help recovery. The princess also met gardener Phil Walker to discover how the landscape of the wellbeing garden gives patients and staff an opportunity to pause and reflect.
Support for Young People
Finally, she visited the Christie's Teenage and Young Adult unit to learn about the therapeutic, social and recreational activities designed to support young people.
The Christie NHS Foundation Trust
The Christie is the largest single site cancer centre in Europe and looks after more than 60,000 patients a year. Serving a population of 3.2 million people in the area, it was also the first UK centre to be accredited as a comprehensive cancer centre. The centre, founded in 1892, is known for its complementary and holistic therapies, which can help alleviate symptoms common with diagnosis and treatment of cancer. These can include stress, depression, fear, worry and anxiety-induced nausea. The Christie also hosts drop-in art classes, a wellbeing garden and a chaplaincy service.
Recent Royal Duties
Kate returned to foreign travel last month with her first overseas royal visit since facing cancer, heading to Italy for a solo working trip as part of her early years work.
