Kate Middleton’s hospital visit was a masterclass, unlike Meghan Markle’s LA fires disasterclass, our experts discuss in PALACE CONFIDENTIAL

The Princess of Wales made a heartfelt visit to the Royal Marsden Hospital in London on Tuesday, where she had previously received cancer treatment. 

Kate, looking effortlessly elegant in a burgundy Kiltane sweater paired with a matching Edeline Lee skirt, was widely praised for her compassionate interactions with current patients. 

Her visit was a gesture of solidarity and support for fellow patients and an opportunity to thank the hospital staff for their ‘exceptional care, support and compassion’ over the past 12 months.

‘She didn’t go into the hospital and say this is my story, this is about me, she wanted to hear about other people,’ the Daily Mail’s Royal Editor Rebecca English said, speaking on Mail+’s YouTube show, Palace Confidential.

During her conversations, Kate shared her experience of having a port inserted into her chest for chemotherapy treatment.

‘That was incredibly open but she did it in a way that was almost quite casual. She wanted to make it about them, not about her,’ Rebecca continued.

‘I think that sets the pattern for the engagements we’re going to see. There may be fewer of them this year, but they’ll be more meaningful to her,’ The Daily Mail’s Diary Editor, Richard Eden, added.

Charlotte Griffiths, Editor at Large of the Mail on Sunday, suggests that the Royal Family are thrilled to see Kate resuming her public duties due to the way she carries herself.

‘They must be so relieved to have her back. I think it’s just a real masterclass on how to be a royal at these engagements,’ she said.

‘She learnt while the late Queen was still alive, so she learnt from the master.

‘She was so good at absorbing the odd compliment, but not making it all about herself, not being a victim, and deflecting the question back because she was genuinely interested to hear about the cancer patients and what they were going through. The Queen famously used to do that.’

Following her visit, in a message on social media, Kate said ‘it is a relief to now be in remission’ from cancer and that she is ‘looking forward to a fulfilling year’. 

The conversation soon shifted to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, with their volunteering efforts during the LA wildfire crisis being labelled a royal ‘disasterclass’.

In light of the fires, Meghan also decided to postpone the launch of her new Netflix lifestyle and cooking show With Love, Meghan, a choice Richard believes ‘lays bare her contempt for the Royal Family’.

He said that according to People magazine, she ‘didn’t think twice about cancelling this programme after the terrible wildfires.’

However, the editor highlighted that Meghan proceeded with the Oprah Winfrey interview when Prince Philip was seriously ill.

‘They decided to go ahead with the programme, obviously caused heartache for everyone in the Royal Family, and Prince Philip died four weeks later.’ 

Similarly, Meghan and Harry ‘went ahead with their Netflix series when the Queen was in failing heath’ and the Prince announced his memoir when ‘it was obvious that Queen Elizabeth was increasingly frail’.

‘So people have been quite cynical about this sudden compassion,’ Richard continued.

Last week, the Sussexes visited an evacuation site in Pasadena, California, where charity organisation World Central Kitchen was distributing food and supplies to victims of the Eaton Fire. 

They also visited some of the burnt out houses in Pasadena and Altadena and spoke to those who had lost their homes.

‘To see Harry and Meghan effectively being given a tour of the area has stuck in a lot of people’s craw and I think that is very understandable,’ Rebecca admitted. 

Charlotte agreed, adding: ‘Their power is drawing attention to issues and there could not be more attention, rightly, on this LA wildfire, so it’s not like we needed them to draw attention to a subtle issue to do with health and mental health.

‘So it felt like they were drawing attention, I’m afraid, to themselves. There’s one picture of Meghan looking right at the camera.’

‘Let’s be honest, if they wanted to help in an anonymous way, they could have,’ Richard said.

‘But they went with the governor of California, so obviously if you turn up to pose for photographs with him, that’s what’s going to happen. These things are so sensitive.’

He went on to say that William and Kate likely wanted to visit the scenes of the riots following the stabbings of the children in Southport last July but were advised to wait.

Instead, they later met the victims’ families, emphasising that such situations ‘need to be done very sensitively’. 

Palace Confidential host Jo Elvin questioned why Harry and Meghan’s scenario differed from instances where members of the British Royal Family toured areas of devastation within the UK. 

‘There’s a huge distinction,’ Rebecca said. ‘The Royal Family are part of our national life, in times of good, in times of bad – and in times of bad, we expect them to be there showing their support.

‘The difference here is that they do this on the advice of the government. They have advisors who are constantly speaking to government officials and Whitehall officials behind the scenes, so they’re very careful to pick their timing.’

According to Rebecca, William and Kate didn’t rush to Southport because ‘they knew that was last thing anyone there needed, bringing attention to families and a community that was grieving. The police and emergency services were still struggling to contain a very volatile situation.

‘They did not listen to the public calls for it and they waited until an appropriate time, and I think it was all the more powerful for doing that.

‘I think people, with Harry and Meghan, are saying these people don’t occupy an official position in our national or even local life, so what right do they have to be given guided tours of the devastation. I can understand why that sticks in people’s craw, I really do.’