Kate returns to cancer center where she was treated to offer gratitude to medical teams

LONDON (AP) — The Princess of Wales visited the hospital where she was treated for cancer on Tuesday, offering gratitude to the medical teams who helped her and give support to patients now undergoing treatment.

Kate, as she is commonly known, conducted the solo engagement at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London, a world-leading state-of-the art cancer center known for its pioneering research. It hadn't been previously disclosed that she had been treated there.

“I was just saying, coming in the front entrance here, having made so many quiet, private visits, actually it’s quite nice,” she said after arriving at the hospital’s main entrance.

Her Kensington Palace office stressed that she would continue to return to public-facing engagements, albeit gradually. The palace described the visit as reflecting her “own personal cancer journey.’’

The royal family was hard hit by health concerns last year, beginning with the announcement in January 2024 that the king would receive treatment for an enlarged prostate and Kate would undergo abdominal surgery.

In February, Buckingham Palace announced that Charles was receiving treatment for an undisclosed type of cancer. Six weeks later, Kate said she, too, was undergoing treatment for cancer, quieting the relentless speculation about her condition that had circulated on social media since her surgery.

She announced in September that she had completed chemotherapy.