Kate Middleton marks World Cancer Day with heart-warming new photo taken by Prince Louis

The Princess of Wales has shared a special post ahead of World Cancer Day 2025 and it features a powerful reminder

Catherine, Princess of Wales smiles as she visits the Dame Kelly Holmes Trust on May 16, 2023 in Bath, England
(Image credit: Photo by Kin Cheung - WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Catherine, Princess of Wales has shared a new photo taken by Prince Louis and spoke of the importance of "nurturing" everything that "lies beyond" cancer.

Ahead of World Cancer Day 2025 on 4th February the Princess of Wales has shared a heart-warming new photo taken by none other than six-year-old Prince Louis. This marks the first time that one of his pictures has been shared publicly and it added even more poignancy to the picture, which shows Kate out in nature. From the look of her picturesque surroundings, this photo was taken recently - or at least during the colder months - and it shows the future Queen standing on a fallen tree trunk with her arms joyfully spread wide.

She’s wearing her trusty wellies, a warm coat and a hat and looks peaceful to be out in nature. In her caption, Kate shared a poignant message, writing, "Don’t forget to nurture all that which lies beyond the disease. C".

The Princess of Wales included the hashtag World Cancer Day and as well as the snap taken by her son, she also posted a graphic of her message overlaid on a black and white picture of ferns. Each year World Cancer Day helps to raise awareness of cancer, to encourage its prevention and also to mobilise widespread action to address it across the world.

This day is led by the Union for International Cancer Control and the theme for 2025-2027 is "United by Unique". It places people at the centre of care and reflects how every experience with cancer is unique and how it will take us all uniting to create a "world where we look beyond the disease and see the person before the patient".

Catherine, Princess of Wales during a visit to The Royal Marsden Hospital on January 14, 2025

(Image credit: Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

The Princess of Wales’s message and photo are a wonderful way to raise awareness for World Cancer Day and her remark about nurturing "all that which lies beyond" cancer ties in beautifully with the personal theme. This post comes just a few weeks after the senior royal confirmed that she is now in remission after she completed cancer treatment last year.

Kate’s update on her cancer recovery was incredibly moving and she posted this message after her first solo visit of 2025 which was to The Royal Marsden Hospital in London. It was here that she had received her own treatment in 2024 and the Princess has now been named as the hospital’s new Royal Patron.

"It is a relief to now be in remission and I remain focussed on recovery. As anyone who has experienced a cancer diagnosis will know, it takes time to adjust to a new normal," she said. "I am however looking forward to a fulfilling year ahead. There is much to look forward to."

As well as likely looking forward to many work-related projects and events, Kate will no doubt also be keen to enjoy plenty of family time too. The picture taken by Prince Louis seems to suggest that mother and son were out on a walk together enjoying nature and getting outdoors with her children and Prince William is one of her favourite past-times. She once described this as her happy place during an appearance on the Happy Mum, Happy Baby podcast.

"I'm happy when..." Kate said. "I'm with my family outside in the countryside and we're all filthy dirty."

After such a challenging past year, the Princess of Wales might well draw a lot of comfort from being in her happy place as much as possible.

Emma Shacklock

Emma is a Royal Editor with eight years experience working in publishing. She specialises in the British Royal Family, ranging from protocol to outfits. Alongside putting her royal knowledge to good use, Emma knows all there is to know about the latest TV shows on the BBC, ITV and more. When she’s not writing about the latest royal outing or unmissable show to add to your to-watch list, Emma enjoys cooking, long walks and watching yet more crime dramas!