Kate writes essay urging people to ‘prioritise love’ after Italy tour
The Princess of Wales has published a deeply personal essay calling on people to “prioritise love” over digital distraction, released alongside a new set of photographs from her recent visit to Italy — her first overseas tour since completing cancer treatment.
A reflection born from recovery
Kate, 43, wrote the piece following her two-day trip to Rome and the Vatican in March, where she met Pope Francis and visited community projects supporting vulnerable children. The essay, shared through Kensington Palace on Tuesday, describes how her experience with cancer fundamentally reshaped her view of human connection.
“In an increasingly digitalised world, it has never felt more important to prioritise love,” she wrote. “To look up. To be present. To truly see the people around us.”
It’s a message that feels unmistakably personal. Kate spent most of 2024 away from public duties after her cancer diagnosis in January of that year, and she has spoken carefully but openly about the toll of that period on her family.
New photographs capture candid moments
The images released alongside the essay were taken during the Italy visit and show the Princess in noticeably relaxed, unguarded moments — speaking with local volunteers, watching children play, and pausing in quiet reflection inside a centuries-old chapel. One photograph, taken in natural light in a narrow Roman street, is already drawing significant attention online for its warmth and intimacy.
A spokesperson for Kensington Palace said the Princess had wanted the essay to feel honest rather than ceremonial. “Her Royal Highness hopes it resonates with people who have been through difficult times of their own and are finding their way back to what matters most.”
Balancing public duties with personal truth
Since returning to full public duties in early 2025, Kate has been selective but deliberate about the engagements she takes on. The Italy visit lasted just 48 hours but included 11 separate engagements. Aides say she was closely involved in planning every one of them.
The essay doesn’t shy away from the tension she clearly feels about modern life.
She writes about families sitting together at dinner while staring at separate screens, about children growing up measuring their worth in likes and followers. But she stops short of lecturing. The tone is reflective, not prescriptive — someone working things out, not handing down conclusions.
What comes next
Kate is expected to continue her return to international engagements throughout the rest of 2025, with at least two further overseas visits reportedly in early planning stages. The essay and photographs are likely the first in a series of pieces she intends to write connecting her public work to broader personal themes.
And if this first essay is any indication, she won’t be pulling punches. It’s candid, it’s considered, and it reads like a woman who came very close to losing everything and hasn’t forgotten what that felt like.
