On 14 January, the Princess of Wales visited the Royal Marsden Hospital. It was her first solo engagement in more than a year, and she took the opportunity to thank staff who looked after during her cancer treatment.

The Princess, who is now in remission, underwent preventative chemotherapy at the Royal Marsden last February after being diagnosed with cancer. She took the visit as an opportunity to connect with patients and reflect on the impact the illness has had on her life.

Catherine was seen consoling a mother as she cried telling her about her teenage daughter’s treatment. She shared stories with fellow patients, recalling that she did not wear a cold cap during chemotherapy. And she offered her advice to stay warm, drink ‘loads of water’ and make sure you get ‘loads of sunlight’, jokingly comparing herself to a plant.

More importantly, though, the visit signalled to the world that she has changed. Not with a bold statement or one single action, but simply in her new approach to the role. While solo engagements are not uncommon for senior working members of the royal family, Catherine’s visit came as a surprise and was certainly the most personal engagement she has ever done.

While the royal family are not necessarily renowned for their relatability, moving forward Catherine seems determined to change that. In doing so, we can expect to see a side of the her that we are not often shown – one that is perhaps more vulnerable. ‘Understanding the diagnosis, it’s a massive amount of information to take on as a patient,’ she said in conversation with doctors, nurses and medical staff at the hospital. ‘Sometimes from the outside we all think you’ve finished treatment, and you go back to things, but it’s hard to get back to normal.’

It’s a sentiment echoed in the video she shared on social media on 9 September to announce that she had completed her chemotherapy treatment. The intimate video saw Catherine walking wistfully through the woods with her children, lying arm in arm on a picnic blanket with Prince William and playing cards at home with her parents. ‘Doing what I can to stay cancer free is now my focus,’ she told us. ‘I am looking forward to being back at work and undertaking a few more public engagements in the coming months when I can.’

The Princess concluded her statement by offering solidarity to other cancer patients. ‘I remain with you, side by side, hand in hand. Out of darkness, can come light so let that light shine bright.’

It’s certainly clear, now, that this video marked a shift in gear for the Princess and indeed the future of the royal family. While she has undertaken several engagements since then, including her annual Christmas Carol Service at Westminster Abbey in December, Catherine is choosing to prioritise her health and her family. As she said herself during her visit to the Royal Marsden, last year’s health scare made her ‘appreciate all the small things in life that you take for granted’.

While that includes spending more time with her three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, it also means choosing projects close to her heart. As such, during Catherine’s recent return to the hospital she was treated in, she was announced as the new joint patron alongside Prince William.

We can expect to see both William and Catherine back at the Royal Marsden again soon, as well as continuing to champion the life-saving treatment cancer wards offer their patients in hospitals around the UK.

This new pared back approach is one that the whole family appears to be on board with. In November, Prince William revealed that he wants to approach royal duties with a ‘smaller r in the royal’ and thinks the monarchy should evolve as it seeks to navigate its place in a more modern world. ‘I can only describe what I’m trying to do and that’s trying to do it differently and I’m trying to do it for my generation,’ William told Sky News at the end of his tour in South Africa.

‘It’s more about impact philanthropy, collaboration, convening and helping people,’ he elaborated. ‘I’m also going to throw empathy in there as well, because I really care about what I do. It helps impact people’s lives. And I think we could do with some more empathetic leadership around the world.’

Catherine’s visit to the very place she spent some of her most challenging moments is case in point. ‘It is a relief to now be in remission,’ she wrote in a social media message after her visit, ‘and I remain focused on recovery.’

‘In my new role as Joint Patron of The Royal Marsden, my hope is that by supporting groundbreaking research and clinical excellence, as well as promoting patient and family wellbeing, we might save many more lives and transform the experience of all those impacted by cancer,’ she added, signing off ‘C’.

This is certainly royal a couple with a new sense of perspective, a shared desire to modernise and a more thoughtful approach to their duties.