Princess of Wales Completes Hiking Challenge for Cancer Charity

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In early 2025, Catherine Elizabeth Mountbatten-Windsor, the Princess of Wales, announced she’s in remission after completing cancer treatment. Since then, she’s made a gradual return to public life and royal duties, and she recently celebrated her recovery by completing the Three Peaks Challenge.

The gruelling challenge involves climbing the three highest peaks of Scotland, England, and Wales within 24 hours. Catherine decided to complete it to raise funds for The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity, a specialist cancer center in Chelsea, London, that focuses on holistic care.

“Cancer doesn’t just affect the body. It changes how you think and feel and profoundly affects every aspect of life,” Catherine shared on Instagram. “I know this personally, and that the journey through and beyond treatment requires more than medicine alone.” The Princess added, “I have taken on the National Three Peaks Challenge, not simply as a physical endeavour but as a chance to explore life beyond diagnosis and to give something back. The Royal Marsden is a place that holds great meaning for me and whose care and expertise are life changing for so many people.”

The Three Peaks Challenge includes hiking to the top of the tallest mountains within each country on the British mainland. On June 28, Catherine climbed Snowdon in Wales (1,085 meters / 3,560 feet), Scafell Pike in England (978 meters / 3,209 feet), and Ben Nevis in Scotland (1,345 meters / 4,413 feet), and was greeted by Prince William and their three children at the finish line. Impressively, that’s a total walking distance of 37 kilometers (23 miles) and a total ascent of 3,064 meters (10,052 feet). The total driving distance between each location is 462 miles.

Catherine believes that holistic healthcare has an important role to play alongside clinical care, supporting patients’ wellbeing, resilience, and quality of life throughout and after their cancer treatment. She explains, “Healing, whether personal or collective, is not just about fixing what is wrong. It is about finding balance in how we live. Between effort and acceptance, between control and trust, between thinking and simply being. Because in the end, bravery isn’t just about pushing forward. It is about knowing how to stay grounded, connected and present, no matter the terrain or landscape you are walking.”

Find out more about the Three Peaks Challenge here.