NEED TO KNOW<\/p>\n
Kate Middleton<\/a> joked that her children keep her hands full, leaving no room for a cup of tea!\n<\/p>\n The Princess of Wales, 43, made the quip in reference to her kids, Prince George<\/a>, 11, Princess Charlotte<\/a>, 10, and Prince Louis<\/a>, 7, at Colchester Hospital on July 2.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n Princess Kate visited the hospital to visit its Wellbeing Garden and Cancer Wellbeing Centre, in a stop that Kensington Palace said aimed to “celebrate the healing power of nature.” It was a meaningful engagement for Princess Kate, who has previously spoken about the peace that nature brought her<\/a> during her cancer treatment and recovery<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n The princess carried a mug around inside the hospital as she met patients and volunteers, joking that “as a parent, you know you’ll keep losing your cup of tea,” according to the Daily Mail<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n Kate Middleton at Colchester Hospital on July 2, 2025.<\/p>\n STEFAN ROUSSEAU\/POOL\/AFP via Getty\u00a0<\/p>\n Princess Kate, Prince William<\/a> and their three children have all celebrated with tea previously. In January 2021, William and the kids reportedly put together a tea party for Kate’s birthday<\/a> at their country home, Anmer Hall<\/a> in Norfolk, as the royal rang in her birthday amid lockdown measures during the COVID-19 pandemic.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n “At the end of the day, she’s in training to be a future Queen, but honestly, you would never know it,” a source close to Kate previously told PEOPLE<\/a> about the family dynamic.\u00a0“If you go round to her house, you get a cup of tea, and it’s often William who makes it! It’s a lovely, welcoming house, not a fancy, stuffy palace in any way.”\n<\/p>\n Queen Camilla, King Charles, Prince Louis, Prince William, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Kate Middleton at Trooping the Colour on June 14, 2025.<\/p>\n Chris Jackson\/Getty<\/p>\n Princess Kate’s subtle reference to how children keep parents busy wasn’t the only comment she made about family on Wednesday.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n “It’s not just the patients, it’s the family too,” she said at the medical center. “It’s not just the cancer care, treatment, healing, it’s about the whole person – mind, body and spirit. We know now that all those three dimensions matter to the recovery journey.”\n<\/p>\n The Princess of Wales also spoke openly about the challenges of the chapter after cancer treatment from the perspective of her own experience, describing the period as “really, really difficult<\/a>.”\u00a0<\/p>\n “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, really difficult,” Kate told patients and volunteers at the hospital.\n<\/p>\n “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 said. “You have to find your new normal and that takes time.”\n<\/p>\n KAte Middleton plants a rose at RHS’s Wellbeing Garden at Colchester Hospital on July 2, 2025.<\/p>\n Stefan Rousseau – WPA Pool\/Getty\u00a0<\/p>\n The Princess of Wales made the deeply personal comments amid a confident return to royal work. Princess Kate reduced her duties for almost the entirety of 2024 after announcing last March that she was diagnosed with cancer<\/a> following an abdominal surgery that January and began treatment.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n She shared in September that she completed chemotherapy<\/a> and announced in January of this year that she was in remission<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n The Princess of Wales is carefully pacing herself as she picks back up with public work and can now look forward to a real summer of respite. The British royals typically scale back their schedules in the summer months to retreat and relax, and Princess Kate is expected to take that space in the coming weeks.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n Kate Middleton at Colchester Hospital on July 2, 2025.<\/p>\n Toby Shepheard \/ Kensington Palace<\/p>\n Can’t get enough of PEOPLE’s Royals coverage? Sign up for our free Royals newsletter<\/a> to get the latest updates on Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and more!\u00a0<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n