The words came reflexively, it appeared, after a volunteer at Charing Cross Hospital in London explained that families of chemotherapy patients often sit by their loved one’s bedside “for hours.”
Princess Catherine quietly and simply responded: “I know.”
It was a perfect, unforced and very human moment, conveying both her lived experience as well as her empathy and compassion in a way no speech ever could.
And it landed all the better because it was a surprise to see Kate at the London hospital today. It was a wet Wednesday in January, traditionally the deadest spot in the royal calendar, when engagements are thin on the ground. Prince William was meant to go to the hospital alone. But at the last minute, his wife appeared beside him.
The future Queen, not long through cancer treatment herself, looked exactly as she should: elegant, assured, glowing with health and purpose. The appearance was a reminder of why she is such a formidable royal asset.
Her empathy, crucially, was not abstract. When she said, “I know,” everyone in that room understood that she did—about all the exhaustion and worry stretching endlessly for both cancer patients and loved ones.
The power of the moment lay in its understatement. There was no accidental centering of herself—unlike Queen Camilla’s unfortunate recent comment, for example, about being groped as a teenager while she was interviewing a man whose family was murdered by a crossbow-wielding killer.
As I reported earlier this week, there is unease—and, jealousy is not too strong a word—around how effortlessly Kate commands public affection, particularly when contrasted with the more brittle standing of King Charles and Camilla.
Charles has spent a lifetime struggling to be liked. Camilla has spent decades trying to be accepted. Kate, by contrast, shows up and the room tilts toward her.
One note of caution: I think Kate has always been careful about not overshadowing William, who, as he has frequently joked himself, is hugely competitive. She needs to be vigilant on that score.
But, right now, I feel he is allowing her the space to shine. Long may it continue.
“I know,” worked because it wasn’t rehearsed. It was utterly authentic, a simple truth from someone who has been through the worst and come back composed, generous and luminous.
It’s why, whether others like it or not, she is now the single most important figure in the modern royal family.
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