Catherine, Princess of Wales revealed that she had achieved a personal milestone - and a royal first - over the weekend, completing the National Three Peaks challenge to raise money for charity and “as a chance to explore life beyond diagnosis”.
The challenge involves climbing the three highest mountains in England, Scotland and Wales - Scafell Pike, Ben Nevis and Snowdon - and the Princess of Wales climbed all three within 24 hours after starting on Saturday evening.
After Catherine shared the post, James Middleton left two simple emojis for his sister in the comments - a mountain emoji and a red heart emoji.
While perhaps understated, James shared the exact same emojis a couple of years before when his sister first shared her diagnosis, promising to stand by her as she conquered this new mountain in her life.
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Sharing the first post back in March 2024, James included a photo of him and his oldest sister as children. In a very poignant nod to Catherine’s latest Three Peaks achievement, the siblings appear to have been on a hike.
The youngsters are both dressed in sporty, outdoor clothing, wearing rucksacks and with an obvious mountain or peak in the background.
James’s sweet caption, written shortly after Catherine shared her cancer news with the world for the first time, read, "Over the years, we have climbed many mountains together. As a family, we will climb this one with you too", followed by the mountain and the heart emoji.
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As the Princess finished the Three Peaks challenge, it has been reported that, along with William and their three children, James and his parents, Michael and Carole Middleton were all there waiting for her as she descended from Snowdon, the final peak in her challenge..
With just two emojis and turning up for her during her milestone, James is proving that he’s there for his sister as she faces all the peaks and valleys in her life, literally and figuratively.
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The Princess’s incredible achievement will help raise money for the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity, however, her message goes deeper. In her post, Catherine encourages everyone - affected by cancer personally or not - to think about "the deeper impact of serious illness and the importance of holistic healthcare".
She continued, "Cancer doesn’t just affect the body. It changes how you think and feel and profoundly affects every aspect of life. I know this personally, and that the journey through and beyond treatment requires more than medicine alone."
"We have an opportunity to reshape what the future of holistic cancer care looks like, enabling more people, nationwide, to access the kind of personalised support that can help make a meaningful difference during and after medical treatment."
