Kate Middleton makes rare comment about cancer battle after Christmas Day service: ‘I’m hugely grateful’

meeting members of the public on Christmas Day. The Princess of Wales, 42, stopped to speak with well-wishers gathered in Sandringham on Wednesday hoping to greet members of the royal family as they walked to and from a Christmas morning service at St.

Mary Magdalene church. One of those she spoke with was Rachel Anvil, 24, a worker at Cambridge’s Royal Papworth Hospital, part of Britain’s National Health Service (NHS), who began her career in a cancer unit.

Princess Kate, who spent much of 2024 battling an undisclosed form of cancer, shared her gratitude toward healthcare professionals for doing the “hard work” by helping cancer patients as they fight the disease. “I started my career in the Macmillan cancer unit, and I just wanted to say, you’re an inspiration to all the patients,” Rachel told Kate in a video Anvil’s mother, Karen, posted on Instagram.“Thank you, honestly,” the princess replied, visibly moved. “The amount of people who have written this year is extraordinary and I think cancer just really does resonate with so many families.”Rachel added that “having someone so influential actually share their story” was meaningful to many.Catherine, as she is officially known, praised the young woman and other cancer workers, saying, “People like you are doing all the hard work out there.”“I’m hugely grateful,” she added.“We’re all behind you, never forget that,” Rachel’s mom told the princess.

Kate seemed to take the message to heart as she smiled and thanked the mother and daughter for their “kind” words.Rachel was effusive about the princess after their meeting.