Kate Middleton’s Mother’s Day message is all about Mother Nature: Our sanctuary

Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales, on Sunday said that nature has been her family’s “sanctuary” over the past year as she battled cancer. She shared the message on X for Mother’s Day.

A video posted with her message includes footage of various natural landscapes across the UK. It also shows her touching a tree and William, Prince of Wales, walking dogs.

“Over the past year, nature has been our sanctuary,” she wrote. “This Mother’s Day, let us celebrate Mother Nature and recognise how our bond with the natural world can help not only nurture our inner selves, but remind us too of the role we play within the rich tapestry of life,” she added.

The Princess of Wales’s Mother’s Day video posted this year marks a departure from last year, when a seemingly innocuous photo featuring Kate and her three children landed the Royal family in hot waters and sparked off speculations about Kate’s whereabouts.

The palace had released a photo in celebration of Mother’s Day on Sunday, showing Kate Middleton smiling at the camera, while her three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, stood around her. It said that the picture was taken by Prince William earlier in the week at the family’s residence in Windsor. However, internet was quick to highlight the discrepancies in the photo and several news agencies later retracted the image, citing concerns that it had been edited.

Kate later took responsibility for the edited image and issued a personal apology, saying “like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing.”

Kate Middleton, who battled breast cancer, announced in January that she was in remission after completing a course of preventative chemotherapy. Over the past year, she has often spoken about the comfort she has found in nature. She has made a gradual return to public duties since finishing treatment last summer.