The Princess of Wales shared a sweet message about the ‘sanctuary’ nature has provided her
William and Kate spent their wedding anniversary on the Isle of Mull last month(Image: @KensingtonRoyal/X)
The Princess of Wales has opened up about how nature has been her sanctuary during her cancer treatment.
In the launch video of her new ‘Mother Nature’ series, the Kate Middleton has disclosed her personal affinity with the natural world amidst her cancer therapy.
The Princess has shared that throughout her illness – from which she’s now in remission after being diagnosed more than a year ago – nature served as a sanctuary aiding her recovery process. The heartfelt video posted on social networks captures William and Kate hugging, with their backs turned to the camera while admiring the scenery.
Kate says: “Over the past year, nature has been my sanctuary. The natural world’s capacity to inspire us, to nurture us and help us heal and grow is boundless and has been understood for generations.”
Kate walks through the flowers(Image: @KensingtonRoyal/X)
“It is through nature that we can fully understand the true interconnectedness of all things, the importance of balance and the importance of renewal and resilience. Connecting to nature helps us to experience a deeper sense of ourselves, the world around us, and each other.”
“Spring is a season of rebirth, of hope and new beginnings. From the dark days of winter, the outside world quietly awakens with new life, and there comes a sense of optimism, anticipation, and positive, hopeful change. Just as nature revives and renews, so too can we. Let us reconnect to nature and celebrate a new dawn within our hearts.
“It is often from the smallest of seeds that the greatest change can happen, and in this ever-growing complex world, we need to hold on to what connects us all. Spring is here, so let’s make the most of it together.”
This video was released to mark the start of Mental Health Awareness Week, setting the tone for forthcoming videos that will honour the other seasons– summer, autumn and winter, reports the Mirror.
(Image: @KensingtonRoyal/X)
In a personal message posted on social media with the video, Kate adds: “This year’s Mental Health Awareness Week, we are celebrating humanity’s longstanding connection to nature, and its capacity to inspire us and help us to heal and grow in mind, body and spirit.
“As we confront the challenges of an increasingly complex and digital world, the importance of the connection between humanity and nature takes on even more significance.”
“The Mother Nature series is a reminder and reflection of the beauty and complexity of the human experience. It is a tribute to the lessons we can learn from nature, helping us to foster our own growth, strengthen our bonds with the world around us and each other. C.”
Kate’s passion in nature follows on from her ‘Back to Nature’ garden at the Chelsea Flower Show back in 2019 and her long-standing relationship with the Scouts, which focuses on enabling children and young people to experience the outdoors and natural world.
The pair hug as they admire the landscape on the Isle of Mull last month(Image: @KensingtonRoyal/X)
Her philanthropic pursuits have often circled around this theme – notably through interactions with youngsters at the Natural History Museum, witnessing the positive effects of nature on children and their families at East Anglia’s Children’s Hospice, and more recently, Ty Hafan children’s hospice in Wales.
Kate has long advocated the benefits of spending time in the natural world, previously revealing how nature became her family’s ‘sanctuary’ in the wake of her cancer diagnosis and during her chemotherapy treatment.
In a candid reflection last month during an excursion to the Lake District with the Scouts, Kate confessed: “I find it a very spiritual and very intense emotional reconnection, I suppose, these environments.”
She added, “Not everyone has that same relationship perhaps with nature, but it is so, therefore meaningful for me as a place to balance and find a sort of sense of peace and reconnection in what is otherwise a very busy world.”