\n
Steven Smith <\/strong> Network Content Editor<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n13:30, 08 Jan 2026<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n\n
\n
<\/figure>\n<\/div><\/g><\/clippath><\/defs><\/svg><\/span>The Prince and Princess of Wales, joint Patrons of NHS Charities Together, speak with staff during a visit to Charing Cross Hospital<\/span>(Image: Isabel Infantes\/PA Wire)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/button><\/p>\n
The Princess of Wales has made a surprise appearance the day before her birthday by joining the Prince of Wales on a visit to show support for NHS staff in London. Kate accompanied William, who was originally due to attend solo, at Charing Cross Hospital on Thursday for their first public engagement of 2026.<\/p>\n
The princess, who is turning 44 on Friday, \u201cwanted to join her husband to show her support for the NHS and to thank the teams at Charing Cross for their efforts\u201d over a difficult winter period, Kensington Palace said. It comes just days from the first anniversary of the princess\u2019s announcement at the start of 2025 that she was in remission from cancer.<\/p>\n
The prince and princess met volunteers from Imperial Health Charity, who help improve care for patients and take pressure off the wider workforce. One volunteer, who works with people going through chemotherapy, spoke to William and Kate about her role.<\/p>\n
Referring to patients and visitors, she told the couple: \u201cPeople will sit there for hours.\u201d In response, Kate said \u201cI know\u201d before touching William\u2019s shoulder and saying \u201cyou know\u201d.<\/p>\n
Kate was last seen on Christmas Day when she joined William and their children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, and the rest of the royal family, on their traditional walk to church at Sandringham in Norfolk. The couple are hoping for a fresh start in 2026 in the wake of Kate\u2019s cancer, after making a big change in the autumn, leaving Adelaide Cottage for a new home, the Grade II-listed eight-bedroom Forest Lodge in Windsor Great Park.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n\n
\n
<\/g><\/clippath><\/defs><\/svg><\/span>The Princess of Wales speaks to a patient during a visit to Charing Cross Hospital<\/span>(Image: Isabel Infantes\/PA Wire)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/button><\/div>\n
William and Kate are joint patrons of NHS Charities Together, and the Palace said the engagement took place to \u201cacknowledge the incredible work of NHS staff over a difficult winter period\u201d. The couple surprised healthcare staff on their tea break and chatted to them about the pressures they faced during the winter virus season.<\/p>\n
Kate, who wore her hair down and carried a small handbag, was dressed in an on-trend burgundy trouser suit with matching blouse, while William wore a v neck jumper over his shirt and tie, with his suit jacket. Staff were gathered in a break room paid for by Imperial Health Charity, which is a member of the umbrella organisation NHS Charities Together, and supports all five of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust\u2019s hospitals through grants, arts and volunteering.<\/p>\n
William and Kate went on to join a roundtable with NHS charity chief executives, trustees, policymakers and philanthropists to discuss the role of philanthropy in the NHS. The couple became patrons of NHS Charities Together in 2020 at the height of the Covid pandemic. The organisation represents more than 220 NHS charities from all NHS Trusts and Health Boards across the UK.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Prince and Princess of Wales visited an NHS hopsital and met patients along with staff Steven Smith Network Content Editor 13:30, 08 Jan 2026 The Prince and Princess of Wales, joint Patrons of NHS Charities Together, speak with staff during a visit to Charing Cross Hospital(Image: Isabel Infantes\/PA Wire) The Princess of Wales has […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2227053,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[23651,413894,23068,22769],"class_list":["post-2227052","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-royalty","tag-kate-middleton","tag-nhs","tag-prince-william","tag-royal-family"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Kate-Middletons-subtle-nod-to-cancer-treatment-as-she-says.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2227052","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2227052"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2227052\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2227054,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2227052\/revisions\/2227054"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2227053"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2227052"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2227052"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2227052"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}