Unable to Read or Focus During Chemotherapy, Kate Middleton Found Comfort in the Most Unexpected Place

During the exhausting days of chemotherapy, when her mind could no longer focus and even the books she once loved became too difficult to read, Kate Middleton turned to a surprisingly simple hobby: coloring.

During a visit to The Christie NHS Foundation Trust cancer center in Manchester in June, the Princess of Wales opened up about how cancer treatment affected her mentally and emotionally. Kate revealed that there were moments when she could not read or concentrate on anything complicated.

“I don’t know about you, but I didn’t have the ability to read or really focus on anything,” Kate shared.

During that difficult period, colored pencils became a quiet escape. There was no pressure, no goal and no need to create a finished masterpiece. There were only gentle strokes of color filling an empty page, like small rays of light slipping into a dark room.

Kate explained that coloring allowed her to explore interesting things without worrying about the final result. It was simply a way to play, relax and temporarily lose herself away from the fears surrounding her.

Her love of coloring was actually revealed years earlier. In 2016, while presenting Scottish illustrator Johanna Basford with an OBE for her services to art and entrepreneurship, Prince William reportedly mentioned that his wife enjoyed Basford’s bestselling adult coloring book, Secret Garden.

“Prince William actually said that his wife likes to color in Secret Garden, which was really sweet,” Basford recalled.

But the most emotional moment of Kate’s visit to The Christie was not about her own experience.

The princess warmly embraced 30-year-old Claire Lorente, who was completing her final day of treatment for breast cancer. Kate congratulated Claire on her long and difficult journey and also acknowledged how challenging cancer can be for families and loved ones.

She then stood nearby as Claire rang the bell marking the end of her treatment. Kate applauded and told her, “This is your day.”

Those words were more than a simple congratulations. They seemed to echo Kate’s own journey—a path through fear, exhaustion and days when the finish line felt impossible to see.

Sometimes, people do not need something extraordinary to survive the darkness. Sometimes, hope begins with nothing more than a colored pencil, a compassionate embrace and a gentle reminder that one day, your moment of victory will come too.