'I'm a royal expert and there is one reason Princess Kate is so inspiring'

The Princess of Wales gave a deeply personal insight into her “rollercoaster” cancer journey earlier this week when she appeared at Colchester Hospital in Essex to tour its well-being garden. Kate, who revealed her cancer was in remission back in January, told a group inside the hospital: "There is a whole phase when you finish your treatment, everybody expects you to be better – go! But that's not the case at all."

She explained: “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 difficult. 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 added: “You have to find your new normal and that takes time.” No wonder people find her so inspiring!

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This week also marked the release of the annual Sovereign Grant and the ‘big story’ was that the King is set to bid the “fondest of farewells” to the royal train which faces being decommissioned after decades of service and replaced by two new helicopters.

While this doesn’t immediately sound like the most relatable move, it’s a personal blow to the King who had hoped to continue its use. And it will save money.

While the loss of the train is the latest clang in the march of time, it is an important step forward. As the decommissioning of the Royal Yacht Britannia in 1997 proved, the Royal Family will survive without this symbol of monarchy which has been a constant since the early days of Queen Victoria’s reign.

It is also the vital next step in ensuring everything is done to align with the King and the Prince of Wales’ focus on achieving a more eco-conscious, sustainable monarchy which remains firmly ahead of the curve.

As Holyrood Week – or Royal Week – returned this year, the King was joined in Scotland by other members of the family for several key engagements. Perhaps the most poignant was the unveiling of a new memorial to Queen Elizabeth II at St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh.

The simple black slate is engraved with the Scottish Crown and ER cypher and the dates when Her Late Majesty's coffin was at rest after her death in September 2022.

It is a thoroughly fitting tribute to the most recent ‘Queen of Scots'.

The Prince of Wales’ genuinely impressive Homewards initiative celebrated its second anniversary this week, and the Prince travelled to Sheffield to mark the day. The programme is using scalable solutions in six flagship locations around the UK to prove that it is possible to end homelessness, making it “rare, brief and unrepeated.”

While his trip to the city was filled with inspiring moments, William was given perhaps the greatest compliment of all when he was compared to his late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales.

After he opened up on his mission to help those who have been “screwed over by society”, former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who had joined William on the panel, said: “I think he’s changing people’s view of homelessness and what can be done about it. Remember, his mother changed people’s views on AIDS, his mother changed people’s views on landmines, and I think he’s changing people’s view that you’ve got to think of a homeless person as an individual who has potential – who if given the proper chance, can actually make something of their lives, and not as someone to be discounted as a down-and-out.”

Mr Brown went on to say of William: “He has got this huge convening power… so I think we’re going to see something quite big here.”