The Princess of Wales has hosted a surprise tea party at Windsor Castle for fellow Three Peaks Challenge participants, including several people she met while taking on the UK’s highest mountains herself.
Kate, 44, completed the demanding trek in June to raise money for the Royal Marsden in London, where she received cancer treatment before announcing in January 2025 that she was in remission.
Among the guests at last week’s gathering was 11-year-old Ted Haslam, a paraplegic boy whom the Princess encountered during her own challenge.
Kate spoke with Ted after he reached the summit of Scotland’s Ben Nevis, carried and pushed by his father Pete and 15 friends and relatives.
The Prince and Princess of Wales shared a video from the tea party on their official Instagram story, writing: “It was a pleasure to welcome other Three Peaks Challenge participants and their families to Windsor Castle.”
“Behind every summit was a personal story of resilience, determination and hope. Listening to their experiences of the challenge and their reasons for taking it on was a powerful reminder that recovery is rarely a journey we make alone, and of the importance of the people who walk alongside us along the way.”
The other guests included Sean McCormick, who undertook the challenge to raise money for a friend’s nephew after the boy was diagnosed with cancer, and Trish Patterson.
Ms Patterson became the fastest woman to complete the gruelling challenge of climbing the highest mountains in Scotland, England and Wales on foot, achieving the feat just days after Kate’s expedition.
The Princess of Wales welcomed fellow Three Peaks Challenge participants to a surprise tea party at Windsor Castle after completing her own gruelling hike across the UK’s highest mountains
The 41-year-old mother shaved nine hours off the previous record by running between the climbs, completing the route in five days and 21 hours. Ms Patterson is from Hythe, Hampshire.
Nine-year-old Albie-Junior was also invited after becoming the youngest amputee to complete the Three Peaks within 24 hours in August. Born without a fibula, he had his foot amputated as a toddler and took on the challenge to raise funds for his local football club.
Kate embarked on the personal expedition to raise money for the Royal Marsden Hospital, where she underwent treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer in 2024. She is now in remission.
During a visit to the London hospital in September, she learned how donations raised through her Three Peaks Challenge are helping fund a new specialist centre for Holistic Wellbeing.
Royal Marsden chairman Sir Douglas Flint thanked the Princess for her fundraising. Kate responded modestly but emotionally, describing the challenge as her way of “giving back” after receiving what she called “incredible” care during her own cancer journey.
She said: “This was my small way of being able to give back and say thank you to you. I had incredible care here and support from a huge team and I’m really, really grateful on a personal level.
“But also the holistic care, the treatments and therapeutic support alongside the clinical pathway is so important. It makes a big difference.”
The future Queen heard moving stories of “resilience” from participants who took on the Three Peaks Challenge
Ted Haslam (right) met the Princess after completing the challenge in June, while Albie-Junior became the youngest amputee to conquer the three peaks in August
The Princess spoke with Albie-Junior, who was born without a fibula and had his foot amputated as a toddler
The Prince and Princess of Wales shared a video from last week’s royal tea party on their official Instagram story
‘The impact of nature, the impact of good nutrition, good ongoing support around you when it’s really difficult to manage the trials and tribulations of medical treatments… it makes a big difference.
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‘It made a big difference to me and it made a huge difference to lots of patients who I’ve spoken to. Thank you and well done. I think it will be transformative not only for patients but for families too.’
The future queen secretly undertook the gruelling physical charity climb back in June, with her proud family meeting her at the last stop at the base of Snowdon, the highest peak in Wales. She had also scaled Ben Nevis and Scafell Pike.
The Three Peaks Challenge sees participants attempt to scale the highest mountains in Scotland, England and Wales within 24 hours, including Ben Nevis, the highest peak in Scotland and the UK and Scafell Pike, the highest peak in England.
It has a total walking distance of 23 miles (37km), an ascent of 3,064m (10,052ft) of vertical climbing and a driving distance between the peaks of approximately 462 miles.
A picture released by Kensington Palace showed Catherine beaming with delight at the summit of Ben Nevis, dressed in cold weather walking gear with her famous sapphire and diamond engagement ring on display.
In a personally penned message, the Princess – who was diagnosed with an unspecified cancer following major abdominal surgery and underwent gruelling chemotherapy, finally revealing she was in remission a year later – said: ‘Every year, hundreds of thousands of people in this country hear the words no one wants to hear.
‘What follows is a path that tests every part of who we are: physically, emotionally, psychologically and spiritually. The challenges ripple outwards, touching families, friendships, work and the quiet moments we spend alone with our thoughts.
‘Cancer doesn’t just affect the body. It changes how you think and feel and profoundly affects every aspect of life. I know this personally, and that the journey through and beyond treatment requires more than medicine alone.
‘I have taken on the National Three Peaks Challenge, not simply as a physical endeavour but as a chance to explore life beyond diagnosis and to give something back.
‘The Royal Marsden is a place that holds great meaning for me and whose care and expertise are life-changing for so many people.’
The royal carried out the challenge solo, supported en route by Mountain Rescue, and was greeted at the end by William, her children George, Charlotte and Louis
The Princess’ brother James Middleton (left) and their parents, Carole and Michael Middleton, were also waiting to celebrate with Kate after the challenge
The princess said she was keen to raise awareness for the ‘deeper impact of serious illness’ and, particularly, the importance of holistic healthcare, which she says complements clinical pathways and ‘support patients’ ability to maintain their wellbeing, resilience and quality of life during an exceptionally difficult time’.
She is keen to enable more people nationwide to access the kind of personalised support ‘that can help make a meaningful difference during and after medical treatment’.
‘Healing, whether personal or collective, is not just about fixing what is wrong. It is about finding balance in how we live,’ she said.
‘Together, we can stand alongside everyone navigating life with cancer, ensuring no one faces this disease feeling unseen or unsupported. Please know you are not alone’.
The royal carried out the challenge solo, supported en route by Mountain Rescue, and was greeted at the end by William, her children George, Charlotte and Louis, her parents Carole and Michael Middleton and brother James.
Kensington Palace said they believed the expedition was a royal first, with the princess being the first member of the Royal Family to complete the Three Peaks.
Kate revealed she had taken on the trek, not only as a physical endeavour, but ‘to give something back’ and raise awareness of the wider impact of serious illness.
The princess was diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer early in 2024, for which she underwent chemotherapy, and she announced she was in remission 18 months ago in January 2025.
The physical challenge marked the latest milestone for the princess, who has gradually returned to royal duties, and in May, restarted her international travel with a working trip to Italy.