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The Princess of Wales recently connected with cancer patients, recalling a side effect of her treatment in 2024
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- Kate Middleton recently opened up to fellow cancer patients about how she coped with some of the toughest side effects of her cancer treatment
- The Princess of Wales shared with patients at the Christie cancer care hospital about how her own treatment left her struggling to focus, making reading difficult
- She turned to coloring, saying it was a "way of playing and losing yourself"
Kate Middleton turned to her creative side to help cope with cancer treatment.
During a visit to the Christie cancer care hospital last month, the Princess of Wales, 44, spoke with some of the patients about her own experience with chemotherapy, revealing how the treatment left her struggling to focus.
“I don’t know about you, but I didn’t have the ability to read or really focus on anything,” she recalled, as seen in a video shared on social media.
“[Coloring] was my way of exploring interesting things and being able to do something that did not require an end product, or an end finished piece," she added. "[It was] just a way of playing and losing yourself.”
Cognitive dysfunction, trouble focusing or clouded thinking during chemotherapy treatments is common among many cancer patients. Commonly referred to as “chemo fog” or “chemo brain,” the Mayo Clinic says that “experts don’t fully know the causes of these concentration and memory changes” and that it’s likely caused by a combination of factors, such as chemicals from both treatment and the cancer itself, stress, pain, sleep issues and more.
Princess Kate revealed her cancer diagnosis in January 2024 and completed chemotherapy in September of that year. In January 2025, she announced that she was in remission and began returning to her public life and royal duties.
Princess Kate has long had an interest in art, including studying art history at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, from which she graduated in 2005.
Prince William also revealed in 2016 that his wife was a fan of adult coloring books when he presented illustrator Johanna Basford with the OBE for her services to art and entrepreneurship.
“Prince William actually said that his wife likes to color in Secret Garden, which was really sweet,” Basford told reporters.
The following year, a Kate-themed coloring book was even available to purchase at Kensington Palace.
The Princess of Wales is also a mother to three children — Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, 11, and Prince Louis, 8 — and has shared a look at their own artistic abilities. Last year, she shared portraits her children had done of her, looking at their varying artistic styles as part of her Shaping Us initiative from The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood, which highlights the importance of creative play in child development.
“The @earlychildhood Shaping Us Framework describes the social and emotional skills which start to develop in early childhood,” read the caption of her Instagram post. “These skills are key throughout our lives, shaping who we are, how we manage our thoughts and emotions, how we communicate with and relate to others, and how we explore the world around us.”
“Drawing portraits with children can provide a moment of connection as you spend time looking at and focusing on one another, as well as being creative and – most importantly – having lots of fun together!” it continued.
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Last fall, during a visit to the National Federation of Women’s Institutes in London, Princess Kate also opened up about her hobbies, stressing how important she found “making and crafting” in forming community with others.
She also shared how she was passing the passion on to her kids, noting that George, Charlotte and Louis had spent their summer “crafting in every corner of the house.”
Read the original article on People
