Doctors told Catherine, Princess of Wales, that her recovery from cancer would not be linear, and she found the same pattern in the natural world.
The princess, 44, spoke about her recovery and her lifelong pull toward the outdoors in an interview published Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2026, in the British weekly Country Life, for a special issue guest-edited by her husband, Prince William. Bestselling British nature writer Robert Macfarlane asked the questions.
“I was told in hospital that my recovery would not be linear. There will be good days and bad days, that it will take time. This is the same in nature. It shows us that periods of rest, reflection and renewal are equally as important as moments of growth,” the princess said.
She kept returning, through the interview, to what being outside gave her while she was ill. “It really has been my sanctuary and a place I’ve instinctively wanted to go,” she said.
Being outdoors and getting better were connected, she said. What she feels strongly about, having been through it herself, is treating illness and recovery as a whole-person matter: serious illness brings physical challenges, she said, but there is a deeper part to everyone. Time outdoors, she said, deepened the link between her mind, body and spirit.
She called it interesting to watch research confirm what people already sense about bringing the natural world into healthcare.
A Diagnosis Still Not Named
The illness itself has stayed private. Kate underwent major abdominal surgery in London, England, in January 2024, and doctors found cancer afterward. In March 2024 she disclosed the diagnosis in a video message, saying she had begun a course of preventive chemotherapy the previous month. The type of cancer has never been disclosed.
In September 2024 she announced she had finished chemotherapy. In January 2025 she said she was in remission. She said it had taken time to explain her condition to Prince George, 13, Princess Charlotte, 11, and Prince Louis, eight.
Blackberry Picking and Room to Roam
Her own love of the outdoors began long before any of that. She described a childhood of playing in streams and picking blackberries, and long stretches on her own when the plainest things were enough.
She tries to hand her three children the same latitude, she said, letting them explore rather than directing what they ought to notice or believe. Outdoor time for children has been a thread through her early childhood development work for years.
She also praised Mind Over Mountains, a mental fitness charity that pairs walking in nature and mindfulness with time alongside experienced wellbeing counselors.
Climbing to Give Something Back
The recovery has taken her up mountains, too. In June, Kate completed the National Three Peaks Challenge, reaching the highest summits in Scotland, England and Wales inside 24 hours, raising money for the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity. Her husband and three children greeted her at the finish. She said the climb was a chance to see what life looks like beyond a diagnosis.
In May she released “Mother Nature,” a four-part video series on the Prince and Princess of Wales YouTube channel, described as a deeply personal, creative reflection on how nature had helped her heal.
A Kingfisher Painted by Prince George
The issue carries more than the interview. A watercolor painting of a kingfisher by George, 13, runs in the same edition.
William’s guest edit ranges across mental health in farming communities, the fight to protect pubs, and his determination that women serving in the military feel safe and respected. He follows his father, King Charles, his stepmother, Queen Camilla, and his aunt, Princess Anne, the Princess Royal, as royals who have guest-edited the weekly.
The interview appeared a month after Kensington Palace released three portraits of Kate outdoors, shared as she announced a new project on how nature can support babies and young children. On Nov. 11, she visited The Chase Community Hospital in Bordon, England.
Macfarlane asked her where she finds hope. She said she finds it in the lessons nature teaches — that people are not alone when life turns difficult, and that they are bound up in something larger than their own worries. “Sometimes, when life is very loud, a quiet teacher is exactly what we need,” she said.