The Princess of Wales carried out an important meeting at Windsor Castle on Thursday morning, the Court Circular has now revealed. It reveals that in her role as Joint Patron of the Royal Foundation of The Prince and Princess of Wales, the Princess held an Early Years meeting at Windsor Castle.
The Princess described her cancer recovery as a “rollercoaster” and spoke about the pressure to put on a brave face when you are struggling to function at home as you usually would.
Her admission, which came during a trip to Essex on Wednesday as she toured a Wellbeing Garden at Colchester Hospital, saw her explain: “You put on a sort of brave face, stoicism through treatment. Treatment’s done, then it’s like ’I can crack on, get back to normal’ but actually the phase afterwards is really difficult.
“You’re not necessarily under the clinical team any longer but you’re not able to function normally at home as you perhaps once used to.”
“And actually someone to help talk you through that, show you and guide you through that sort of phase that comes after treatment I think is really valuable.” She added: “You have to find your new normal and that takes time.”
This latest engagement at Windsor Castle would have allowed the Princess to focus on her greatest passion project, which has been many years in the making.
Declaring it her “life’s work”, Kate, who has spent more than a decade examining how social challenges such as addiction, mental health and homelessness shape someone as they grow up, unveiled Shaping Us in 2023.
At the launch, she explained: “The way we develop, through our experiences, relationships and surroundings during our early childhood, fundamentally shapes our whole lives. It affects everything from our ability to form relationships and thrive at work, to our mental and physical wellbeing as adults and the way we parent our own children.
“These are the most preventive years. By focusing our collective time, energy and resources to build a supportive, nurturing world around the youngest members of our society and those caring for them, we can make a huge difference to the health and happiness of generations to come.”