Since then, the 43-year-old has returned to royal duties slowly and carefully, with aides stressing that she is listening to her body and taking time to recover fully. “She’s being sensible, listening to what her body is telling her and easing back into public life,” said Queen Elizabeth’s former spokeswoman Ailsa Anderson.

Recently, Kate chose a meaningful setting for one of her first public engagements: a hospital garden in Essex. There, she opened up about how difficult it was to find her footing once chemotherapy had ended.

“You put on a sort of brave face, stoicism through treatment,” she said. “Treatment’s done, then it’s like, ‘I can crack on, get back to normal,’ but actually, the phase afterwards is really, really difficult. You’re not necessarily under the clinical team any longer, but you’re not able to function normally at home as you perhaps once used to. And actually, someone to help talk you through that, show you and guide you through that sort of phase that comes after treatment, I think is really valuable.”

Kate admitted that the aftermath was harder than she expected. “You have to find your new normal, and that takes time. And it’s a roller coaster, it’s not smooth, like you expect it to be. But the reality is you go through hard times.”

She also shared how much solace she found in nature during her recovery, explaining that spending time outdoors was where she felt most “at peace.”