The Princess of Wales praised the “amazing work” of the NHS as she made a surprise appearance the day before her birthday by joining the Prince of Wales on a visit to a hospital in London.
Kate accompanied William, who was originally due to attend solo, at Charing Cross Hospital on Thursday for their first public engagement of 2026.
The couple met healthcare workers and discussed the pressures faced during the winter virus season.
It comes just days from the first anniversary of the princess’s announcement at the start of 2025 that she was in remission from cancer.
After meeting charity volunteers and visiting a ward which provides rehabilitation for patients with neurological conditions, Kate said: “There’s some amazing work going on here. We’ve just seen some of it today.
“It makes a big difference to patients’ lives.”
Surprising a room of volunteers and staff, a moment one nurse later described as “surreal”, William wished them a “happy new year” before looking at his watch and saying “we can still say that can’t we?”.
In a conversation with the volunteers, who were from Imperial Health Charity, Kate spoke about how their work can sometimes go “unrecognised”.
She said: “Sometimes the skills, the soft skills, the empathy and compassion, the kindness, goes beyond any job description.
“And it makes such a difference to patients and it often goes unrecognised.”
Volunteer Maureen Gilmour, who works with people going through chemotherapy, spoke to William and Kate about her role.
Referring to patients and visitors, she told the couple: “People will sit there for hours.”
In response, Kate said “I know” before touching William’s shoulder and saying “you know”.
The prince and princess also spoke to patients in an art therapy room. A musician played the harp as the couple entered and Kate commented that it was “very relaxing”.
In a conversation with one patient, she said: “I was just saying that you need the medical support but actually being able to have the sort of holistic support alongside it… it must help the days go past.”
Kate went on to discuss how “fantastic” it was to have spaces for holistic care, adding: “Creativity and nature played such a huge part in my recovery journey.”
The couple later also visited a physical activity room on the rehabilitation ward, where they spoke to a patient.
As William entered the room and approached the patient, he joked: “We’ve come to interrupt your gym session.”
Kate, who is turning 44 on Friday, told the patient: “It must be nice doing things like this, a good distraction from all of the medical things… it must be nice having the staff here alongside you, helping, supporting and encouraging you.”
During the visit, William spoke to a roundtable with NHS charity chief executives, trustees, policymakers and philanthropists to discuss the role of philanthropy in the NHS.
He said: “Catherine and I just had a very nice tour round the rehabilitation unit upstairs and have seen some of the supporting structures and things put together by the NHS Charities Together.
“Both of us had different experiences with hospitals, me working with the air ambulance and Catherine with her recent health journey, and coming here today reminds ourselves just how important all the teams are, all the staff, the patient sort of interactions.
“It’s so heart-warming and it’s so important that we kind of acknowledge and appreciate all that goes on in the NHS, and that very strong bond between patient and carer.”
He added that he thinks the power of philanthropy in the NHS is something that has been “undervalued” for many years.
“We all applauded the NHS for many weeks through Covid,” he added.
“This kind of feels like a bit of a moment to remind ourselves why we did all of that applauding.”
Speaking after the engagement, Ursula Edirisinghe, a consultant in the A&E department, said seeing Kate and William walk through the door was a “complete surprise”.
She added: “It was a genuine surprise and it was really, really humbling to meet them.
“It’s a bit of a surreal moment isn’t it when you see people that you’ve obviously seen on TV.
“You feel like you almost know them but to see them there… they were absolutely stunning. Kate was wearing very high heels and she was absolutely gorgeous.”
Kate, who wore her hair down and carried a small handbag, was dressed in an on-trend burgundy trouser suit with matching blouse, while William wore a V-neck jumper over his shirt and tie, with his suit jacket.
Imperial Health Charity is a member of the umbrella organisation NHS Charities Together, and supports all five of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust’s hospitals through grants, arts and volunteering.
NHS Charities Together: Driving innovation, transforming care and supporting staff wellbeing ✨ pic.twitter.com/XCcuFpZZfT
— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) January 8, 2026
The organisation represents more than 220 NHS charities from all NHS trusts and health boards across the UK.
Chief executive Gail Scott-Spicer said: “We are delighted to have been able to thank our hard-working NHS staff and volunteers with this surprise event – made all the more special by the generous attendance of their royal highnesses the Prince and Princess of Wales.”
