On June 4, Princess Kate spent the second day this week supporting the work of cancer organizations as she visited the Christie NHS Foundation Trust in Manchester. The wasn’t a dry eye in the room when the Princess of Wales watched a patient ring the bell to signal the end of her chemotherapy treatments—and along with comforting 30-year-old Claire Lorente, Kate told Claire’s partner that his role was “just as hard.”
The Princess of Wales, who was diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer in 2024, met with patients at The Christie, including Claire, who was getting ready to ring her bell. In a video shared on X by the Sun’s royal editor, Matt Wilkinson, Kate hugged a tearful Claire, rubbing her arm as she heard more about the woman’s cancer journey.
“Well done!” Kate said to Lorente’s tearful partner, hugging him and saying, “I know. It’s just as hard for family and loved ones.”
The princess then shared how tough it was for her family, including her parents, Carole and Michael Middleton, when she was sick, telling Claire’s partner how she understood that he went “through it.”
After meeting Claire’s baby, Kate exclaimed, “Isn’t Mummy brave?” before watching Claire and her partner ring the bell together.
Prince William has previously touched on how difficult it was for him to watch both his wife and his father go through cancer treatments, describing 2024 as the “hardest” year he’s ever had.
“Life is sent to test us as well, and it definitely can be challenging at times, and being able to overcome that is what makes us who we are,” he told Eugene Levy in an episode of The Reluctant Traveler. “I'm so proud of my wife and my father for how they've handled all of last year. My children have managed brilliantly as well.”
During the rest of her visit, Princess Kate will join an art therapy session with patients, meet with teenage and young adult patients, and hear more about how holistic approaches have complemented patients' existing clinical treatments.
The Princess of Wales, who is an enthusiastic gardener herself, will also join gardener Phil Walker to discover how the landscape of the facility's wellbeing garden gives patients and staff an opportunity to pause and reflect.
