Kateâs return to cancer treatment hospital revealed her âunique royal superpowerâ, body language expert claims
The Princess of Walesâs âunique royal superpowerâ was revealed during her poignant visit to the London hospital where she received cancer treatment, a body language expert has revealed.
A video of Kate, now 44, hugging a cancer patient at the Royal Marsden hospital in January 2025, showcased her âacute empathyâ after her own battle with the illness, Judi James told the Daily Mail.
This trait helps her foster moments of âauthentic connectionâ and is one of Kateâs biggest strengths, Ms James continued.
âWeâre used to seeing royals hugging strangers when they are out on visits, but most of these hug rituals tend to either be âparentalâ, cursory, or even âbeatificâ in style, tone, and execution.
âKate shows a capacity for going emotionally deeper, and the non-verbal cues here suggest that when she leans to hug a woman, the need for contact and empathy is almost mutual in that moment,â Ms James said.
She noted that Kateâs own cancer journey will have âadded an extra layerâ in her ability to both âlisten and understandâ.
âHer empathy is prompted by personal and shared experience rather than the imagined variety, where someone will try to put themselves into someone elseâs shoes while theyâre communicating with them,â Ms James continued.
The effect is that Kateâs meeting looks more like two friends talking âabout a really horrible timeâ and less like a stiff, official outing, she concluded.

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The Princess of Walesâsâunique royal super powerâ was revealed during her poignant visit to the London hospital where she received cancertreatment, a body language expert has revealed
While speaking to one patient during her hospital visit on January 14, 2025, Kate appeared visibly emotional as she listened attentively to the patientâs experience of receiving cancer treatment at the specialist oncology hospital.
The compassionate princess was then captured placing a tender arm of support around the woman before she shared: âIâm sorry, this is why I wanted to come and show my support for all the amazing work that is going on here.â
Appearing to get tearful, Kate considerately asked: âAre you OK?â before she reassuringly added: âThere is light at the end of the tunnel.â
âVery nice to meet you and best of luck, youâre in the very best of hands,â added an emotional Kate, to which the patient responded: âThank you so much.â
The mother-of-three was dressed in an all-red ensemble as she met with patients and staff to thank them for their âexceptional care, support and compassionâ throughout the past 12 months of her own cancer battle during the visit last year.
Kate, who is Joint Patron of The Royal Marsden, shows her compassionate side as she âtilts or cocks her head to register both empathy and a desire to listenâ, Ms James explained.
âWe can see Kateâs own emotional state taking her close to tears here. Her hair touching looks less about preening or self-comfort and more like a truncated shielding ritual to partly hide her eyes as the tears threaten to appear.â

A heartwarming video of the Princess of Wales hugging a patient at the Royal Marsdenâs Chelsea site in January 2025, where Kate herself underwent preventive cancer treatment herself, showcased her âacute empathyâ, according to body language expert Judi James

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She added that Kateâs own cancer journey will have âadded an extra layerâ in her ability to both âlisten and understandâ with the patient as she emotionally shared her own experience with battling the awful disease
According to Ms James, the significance of such a heartfelt moment shared between the future Queen and a cancer patient is not to be understated.
âThis trait of registering a deeper form of empathy and moments of authentic connection could be emerging as Kateâs unique royal super power.â
The princess was later praised for her âvulnerabilityâ after the tear-jerking clip was posted online.
Writing on X/Twitter, one person said: âThe mental and emotional effects of cancer and chemo linger much longer than the physical effects. An encounter such as this puts one back in the infusion chair, and one remembers and responds instinctively.â
Another added: âThis is where she shines, she has genuine empathy and can talk to everyoneâ.
Meanwhile, another royal fan praised the âkindâ princess for her âheartfelt emotionsâ and added: âA lovely trait to behold as a Queen in waitingâ.
The visit to Royal Marsden hospital in Londonâs Chelsea marked Kateâs first solo engagement after completing a preventative course of chemotherapy in September 2024.
Describing her treatment as âreally toughâ, Kate told a patient undergoing chemo: âItâs such a shock.â
The princess spoke poignantly about the âresilienceâ she learned throughout treatment and thanked one well-wisher who told her: âI think youâve managed the children amazingly well.â
âOh, thatâs kind,â responded Kate.
Ahead of her visit to the Royal Marsden in January 2025, the princess took to social media to reveal that she was in remission from cancer in an emotional statement signed âCâ.
âI wanted to take the opportunity to say thank you to The Royal Marsden for looking after me so well during the past year,â the future Queenâs message read.
âMy heartfelt thanks goes to all those who have quietly walked alongside William and me as we have navigated everything.

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Kate, who is Joint Patron of The Royal Marsden, showed her empathetic side as she âtilts or cocks her head to register both empathy and a desire to listenâ, according to Ms James

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Here, Kateâs down-to-earth and soft-hearted nature shone through and highlighted her rare ability to make a public interaction feel so personal. âThe feedback was that this was like talking to a friend about a really horrible time,â added Ms James
âWe couldnât have asked for more. The care and advice we have received throughout my time as a patient has been exceptional.
âIn my new role as Joint Patron of The Royal Marsden, my hope is that by supporting groundbreaking research and clinical excellence, as well as promoting patient and family wellbeing, we might save many more lives, and transform the experience of all those impacted by cancer.
âIt is a relief to now be in remission and I remain focused on recovery. As anyone who has experienced a cancer diagnosis will know, it takes time to adjust to a new normal.
âI am however looking forward to a fulfilling year ahead. There is much to look forward to. Thank you to everyone for your continued support.â
Last December, as a mark of thanks to the Royal Marsden, the princess donated a âmajesticâ Christmas tree from her annual carol service to the hospitalâs Sutton branch.
While Kate has never spoken publicly about the sort of cancer she was diagnosed with, she has addressed her âlife-changingâ health battle in a remarkable gesture of solidarity with others battling the illness.
