The incredible picture of Princess Kate that proves one key thing about her royal future

A picture is worth a thousand words and this image of the Princess of Wales surrounded by dozens of smiling faces during a shows the strength of public support for our future Queen.

Phones held high, hands waving and huge grins awaited Kate, as she made her first solo engagement since 2023. Her visit to the hospital, to thank the staff who looked after her during her cancer treatment and meet with patients going through a similar journey, was carefully planned – with details kept secret until just a couple of hours before she arrived.

The past 12 months will continue to shape how Kate approaches royal duties – and giving a voice to cancer patients will be a key part of that.

Just as the King has been determined to empathise with those in similar situations, Kate will use her position to help others deal with their trauma.

Our lives are shaped by our experiences and it is clear that she is determined to use her gruelling cancer to help others.

How is King Charles really doing?

I’ve spent the past 10 days at the World Indoor Bowls Championships in Norfolk, but – scores, draws and results aside – there’s only been one question on everyone’s lips: how’s the King really doing?

My job always brings a lot of intrigue, and I’m often subject to a barrage of questions about what friends and relatives have read about the Royal Family.

The Princess of Wales’s welcome disclosure last week that she is finally in remission from cancer appears to have sparked renewed interest in the health of the Monarch.

It’s been almost a year since Charles revealed his cancer diagnosis, and he continues to undergo regular treatment. However, while the length of his treatment plan may seem concerning, it’s entirely normal for it to be ongoing for a long period.

Palace sources frequently use optimistic language, noting “the very positive direction” his treatment is going in. The King’s diary is evidence of this, with a busy schedule of engagements over the coming weeks, including a visit to Poland later this month.

A full agenda of international tours is also in the works, with aides busy planning a trip to Italy in the spring.

At home, Charles is carrying on with his shake-up in the royal diary, but returning to duties promptly after the New Year, rather than following in his mother’s footsteps and waiting until the start of February.

Last week he attended three engagements as the workaholic King continued to throw himself into duties and carry on as normal, packing in as many public visits as his doctors allow.

He remains positive about his prognosis and is firmly adopting his late mother’s mantra: “I have to be seen to be believed.”

As for the indoor bowling championships, I can reveal my other love: lawn bowls. I’ve played for more than 15 years and first represented England in 2017. And each January I head to Potters Resorts to commentate on our sport’s pinnacle event.

Meghan Markle finally makes right decision

The Duchess of Sussex, above, made the right call to delay the launch of her show in the wake of the devastating wildfires ripping through LA neighbourhoods.

Last weekend received repeated calls from critics and supporters alike urging her to postpone the release of her new cooking show, which was filmed less than 100 miles from the blaze in her Californianhome town of Montecito.

It wouldn’t have been appropriate for a series about the joy of hosting and spending time at home when so many people on her doorstep had seen their homes burnt to the ground.

Of course, many ardent critics are cynical about the decision and believe it’s all down to publicity – and the fear the fires will overshadow the show.

But let’s give her and streaming giant the benefit of the doubt here. It was the right choice and that’s a rarity from the Sussex camp.

King Charles’s royal first

It may come as a surprise to readers that no British monarch has ever visited the most infamous of the Nazi concentration camps, Auschwitz-Birkenau. An estimated 1.1million people were murdered at the site – nine in ten were Jews.

The only senior royal to have visited Auschwitz is the current Queen.

In 2020, as the Duchess of Cornwall, she marked 75 years since the liberation of the camp alongside Holocaust survivors and dignitaries.

In 2015, the late Queen Elizabeth visited Bergen-Belsen on a state visit to Germany in 2015, marking her first and only visit to a Second World War concentration camp., to mark 80 years since its liberation is, therefore, doubly important.

It will be an incredibly moving ceremony as those gathered remember the horrors the Nazi regime inflicted on tens of millions of innocent people.

Prince Harry’s UK return

Will there be a royal reunion this week when the Duke of Sussex returns to the UK? Not likely.

is heading home for yet another court case against the British Press. This time, it’s the publishers of the Sun that are in the firing line.

He’ll be travelling to the UK alone, as Meghan stays at home with the kids, but no time has been put aside to meet his father.

If only he had focused his attention on rebuilding his relationships with his family instead of pursuing this vendetta against the Press.