When the Princess of Wales visited the Royal Marsden Hospital last week, she brought cameras and members of the royal rota. Kensington Palace openly briefed all kinds of details about her visit, her chemotherapy treatments at the hospital last year, and something about how she was “smuggled in” for treatment. Kate mostly spoke to cancer patients during the visit, leaving some people to wonder why Kate hadn’t posed with her doctors and nurses, and why everyone working on the cancer ward looked like they were seeing Kate for the first time. Well, Operation Clean Up Keen’s Mess is still in full effect. Wouldn’t you know, Becky English at the Mail got a hot tip that Kate visited the Royal Marsden last month to thank staff.
Her return to the Royal Marsden this week to meet fellow cancer sufferers and thank nursing staff was as moving as it was surprising. The Princess of Wales undertook her first solo public engagement on Tuesday in more than a year as she visited the London hospital where she has secretly undergone her own chemotherapy treatment.
But the Mail can today reveal that it was not the first time that Catherine, 43, has returned to express her heartfelt thanks to the team who, as she so eloquently put it, ‘have walked quietly alongside William and me as we have navigated everything’. In fact, she secretly popped in to the specialist cancer care centre just before Christmas during an ‘under the radar’ festive visit, it can now be disclosed.
She was quietly taken through a back entrance at the hospital to avoid being spotted, just like she did during her treatment. And it is understood she also brought the doctors and nurses hand-picked festive gifts and treats, including biscuits, as a sign of her thanks. A source described the gesture as ‘typically thoughtful’ of Catherine – and yet another indication of how incredibly appreciative she is of all the team have done for her over the past 12 months.
It is not clear how long she spent with them during the strictly private visit, which was not recorded in the Court Circular, the official record of royal engagements. The last time she was there as a patient was before the autumn, when she joyously announced that she had complemented her course of preventative chemotherapy for an undisclosed form of the disease.
As I’ve said before, I’m sure there are absolutely people buying what Kate is selling. I’m not one of them. This is a woman who went missing so thoroughly, the Sun had to fake photos of a “Kate sighting” last year. This feels like a story being pushed by the palace to explain why Kate didn’t pose for photos with doctors and nurses during her trip last week.
Meanwhile, this wasn’t the only “Kate sighting” we’ve been told about but not shown. The Mail also reports that Kate “toured two elite north London day schools – sparking rumours Prince George could be educated at one of them.” She apparently toured Highgate School and University College School last month as well, after both schools closed for the Christmas holiday. This comes after rampant speculation that Kate “won” the school battle and now plans to send Prince George to her alma mater, Marlborough. A source told the Mail that while a day school would be an unexpected choice for the heir to the throne, “With the year Catherine has had, she may well have thought to herself that she wants to soak up every drop of George’s childhood and tuck him into bed herself each night.” How would she tuck in her teenage son every night when she’s not based in London?
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.
