While she's The Princess of Wales to the world, to her brother, James Middleton, she'll always be his big sister Kate. This weekend, James showed their bond is still as strong as ever, as he revealed the 'promise' he made to Kate while he was visiting her in hospital.
The Princess has been open about her health battles in recent years, including the impact cancer treatment and recovery has had on her. Now, in a rare public post about his sister on social media, James shared a photograph tightly embracing Kate on Instagram.
Alongside the heartfelt image, he wrote a personal dedication to his 'darling sister' to mark a week since the pair completed the National Three Peaks Challenge. The trek involves climbing Snowdon in Wales, Scafell Pike in England and Ben Nevis in Scotland in a tight time limit - usually 24 hours. Last week, it was revealed that The Princess of Wales had completed the intense challenge, and her brother, James was by her side.
In his latest post, James explained how the idea of the trek had originated in Kate's hospital room. 'Two years ago, I told you we'd climb this mountain together,' he wrote. 'We talked about climbing mountains while you were in hospital, and about the incredible healing power that nature can have for both the body and the mind.'
In her own posts, Kate explained she took on the challenge 'not simply as a physical endeavour but as a chance to explore life beyond diagnosis and to give something back.' Through the trek, she was raising money for the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity, connected to the hospital where she was treated.
'Seeing how far you’ve come is nothing short of inspiring,' wrote her brother, praising Kate's 'strength, resilience, and determination.' He added that she was 'the most amazing mother, wife, daughter, and sister' and that he and 'so many others' were inspired by her every day.
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The Princess of Wales didn't announce publicly that she was attempting the challenge, leading to lots of surprise encounters with unsuspecting fellow hikers. One of which was an 11-year-old boy named Ted, who uses a wheelchair and was being supported on the journey by his dad and a team of family and friends.
Pictures and videos of the encounter went viral on social media and were shared by fan accounts, revealing Kate checking in on how Ted was doing and joking about the grey, blustery weather:
The group were raising money for Molly Olly's Wishes, which supports children with life threatening illnesses, and their families. The Princess of Wales made a personal donation, leaving a message on the Just Giving page. It read: 'One of the real highlights of the Three Peaks Challenge was meeting inspiring people like you along the way. Huge congratulations to the entire team for raising money for such a wonderful cause. C'
Speaking later on the radio about the encounter, Ted's dad, Pete described the Princess as 'lovely,' and 'very motherly to Ted'. He said she was asking 'all the questions a mum would ask, seeing if he was warm enough' and 'if he'd got some sleep after the first mountain.'
