Emma Manners, the Duchess of Rutland, is reflecting on her life in remission after revealing that she navigated cancer last year. 

The British noblewoman, 61, shared the news about her health in an emotional first-person piece for The Telegraph on March 30. Emma received her royal title through her marriage to David, the 11th Duke of Rutland (from whom she is separated) ,and wrote about her health journey after she was diagnosed with breast cancer in July 2024.

“Cancer is a hideous disease and the ultimate leveler. No one is immune – not the King of England, the Princess of Wales and certainly not me,” she began.

King Charles and Kate Middleton both announced in 2024 that they were undergoing treatment for cancer; the King’s treatment is ongoing while Princess Kate announced in January that she is in remission.

“Like everyone else who has ever found themselves sitting opposite a doctor being told ‘you have cancer,’ I felt terrified,” Emma said.

Emma Manners, Duchess of Rutland, at a signing for copies of her autobiography “The Accidental Duchess” in London on Sept. 22, 2022.

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The Duchess of Rutland, whose marital home is Belvoir Castle in Leicestershire —famously used as a filming location for The Crown, said a mammogram detected “three shadows” in her left breast after she found a lump that she initially dismissed as “a pimple or a cyst.” It was confirmed to be stage 2 breast cancer and a treatment plan was put in place.  

Processing the shock, Emma said that she listened to her inner voice, which guided: “‘Hang on, I’m only 60, I’ve got a bit of living left to do.’ ”

“Running Belvoir Castle with David is one of the greatest, if hugely demanding, honors of my life. I wasn’t done yet,” she said.

Emma Manners, Duchess of Rutland, at a launch event for a Royal Afternoon Tea inspired by Netflix’s “The Crown” at Belvoir Castle on March 11, 2020.

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The Duchess said she went into “work mode” to tackle treatment and reset her lifestyle. She refreshed her diet, began intermittent fasting, embraced nature walks, wrote in a journal and took magnesium for sleep. 

Emma wondered if a hormone replacement therapy implant she had to help with menopause, or past habits like cigarettes and wine, contributed to her diagnosis, but decided to focus on the future instead of the past. 

After the coil and implant were removed, she learned the good news that the cancer had not spread. The Duchess said she had a successful mastectomy of her left breast in September, the day after her 61st birthday.

More therapies were ordered and she leaned on her partner Phil Burtt for support, writing that humor helped, too.

After learning her reconstructive surgery couldn’t happen for another year, Emma joked that she reacted, “No new boobs and tummy tuck for Vi’s wedding.” The Duke and Duchess of Rutland share children Violet, 31, Alice, 29, Eliza, 27, Charles, 25, and Hugo, 21, with their eldest engaged to marry William Garnock, the son of the 16th Earl of Lindsay.

Lady Alice Manners, Emma Manners, Duchess of Rutland, Lady Eliza Manners and Lady Violet Manners at Tod’s Sloane Boutique cocktail party on Sept. 15, 2018 in London.

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Emma said her post-mastectomy tests later came back negative, followed by a week of preventative radiotherapy.The Duchess said she is now “in remission,” but “not taking anything for granted.”

“Now I’ve found my voice again – and I’ve a lot of living to do,” she wrote.