The Princess of Wales recently shared her passion for cold swimming, declaring, “The colder, the better. I absolutely love it.” Even in the dark, she eagerly seeks out the invigorating chill of the water.

This chilly pastime has become more than just a hobby for her; it’s a powerful tool for enhancing circulation, boosting mood, strengthening immunity, and sharpening mental clarity. Cold swimming offers her a way to clear her mind and strip away life’s distractions.

Such resilience couldn’t have come at a better time, as the past two years have marked some of the most challenging in her life. Following her battle with cancer, Catherine has embraced a new chapter with unwavering determination.

Celebrating her 44th birthday last Friday, she embodies a steely resolve that has been forged through adversity. Her spirit remains unbroken.

By 2025, Catherine began to gradually re-enter public life, having previously stepped back to focus on her health after her cancer diagnosis. Her graceful, courageous, and poised return has earned her admiration on both sides of the Atlantic.

The grace, courage and poise with which she has done so has seen her rightly praised on both sides of the Atlantic.

Donald Trump is a big fan.

When she greeted the President at Windsor Castle on his state visit last September, he was effusive. 

The Princess toasts President Donald Trump after his speech at the state banquet for the President and the First Lady. When Catherine greeted the president at Windsor Castle on his state visit last September, he was effusive.

The grace, courage and poise with which she has done so has seen her rightly praised on both sides of the Atlantic. The princess and the First Lady bonded over their shared interests in children and scouting

He paused, leaned in and said it plainly: ‘Beautiful.’ Then he said it again.

Here was soft power diplomacy at its best. Catherine, now the most popular royal, had come of age.

For years referred to as Kate Middleton in the press even after she wed William, now Catherine has stepped out from the late Princess Diana’s shadow and embodies the title The Princess of Wales by right.

When fate decrees she will step up to become Queen Catherine too. Not Queen Kate.

Diana comparisons hampered her at the outset of her royal career – but such a narrative is lazy.

They are totally different women.

One wounded from childhood; split parents, stricken with bulimia, vengeful but loved, tender. Diana was a lamb to the slaughter, cheated on by her older adulterous husband.

Diana rebelled against the institution. Catherine has fully embraced it.

She observed and learned from Diana’s mistakes.

She took years learning to cope with the paparazzi with a smile as a royal girlfriend. Academically smart, from a solid middle-class family, she is devoted to her family and has a husband on whom she truly leans and depends. He is her rock.

Where Diana exposed weakness of the royal system, Catherine stands as its savior, by far its most popular member.

One destabilized. The other fortified, happy to serve.

Perhaps this difference matters most in America where Diana, the victim, was hugely popular – The People’s Princess.

But where Diana was spectacle, Catherine has become credible. She brings her ‘A game’ to the table every time.

In America Diana, the victim, was hugely popular – The People’s Princess

Where Diana was spectacle, Catherine has become credible. She brings her ‘A game’ to the table every time

Robert Jobson is the author of the New York Times bestseller Catherine, The Princess of Wales. His new book The Windsor Legacy is published by Pegasus Books this week.

When she was last in the US in Boston in 2022, she attended Harvard’s Center on the Developing Child, impressing professors and expert researchers with her deep knowledge on early childhood development. It is, after all, a ‘signature issue’ to which she has publicly and privately committed.

She always ensures she is well briefed, on top of her subject.

Nowhere was this more poignantly evident than in her cancer announcement in March 2024. Sitting on a bench, framed by spring flowers, she spoke for just ninety seconds.

A mother explaining absence. A woman stating facts. Raw courage, that won praise from King Charles, himself still living with cancer.

Catherine’s cancer battle has sharpened her resolve. She always projected calm, but now in public she appears unflappable.

She moves without haste. Listens without theatre. Leaves no loose ends. She understands restraint as strength.

America has noticed. It always does when composure holds under pressure. That is why Trump’s praise mattered. Not because of who he is, but what it revealed.

Catherine registers across political divides. She is authentic. In the United States, where royal fascination can descend into parody, she has escaped caricature.

Her credibility grows while noisier narratives fade.

The so-called fall-out with her sister-in-law Meghan Markle is in the past.

Like William whose relationship with his brother Harry remains broken, she has risen above the Sussex noise; she refuses to waste energy on drama concerning the California based couple.

In the UK, public opinion polls confirm what has been visible for years: she is Britain’s most popular royal. The monarchy needed someone who could modernize it without dismantling it. Catherine did not set out to be that answer. She became it – quietly.

She photographs well. She dresses with intent because she understands the symbol fashion brings.

At the Windsor banquet in President Trump’s honor, she deployed elegance as diplomacy.

Nothing accidental. Nothing excessive. The public senses this discipline about her. She is proud to represent the best of British.

She is William’s anchor. He needs her steadiness. Together they function less like heirs-in-waiting and more like they are already in the top jobs.

The balance works because neither competes for attention or popularity – unlike the previous Prince and Princess of Wales, ‘Charles and Lady Di.’

She is William’s anchor. He needs her steadiness. Together they function less like heirs-in-waiting and more like they are already in the top jobs

Her credibility grows while noisier narratives fade. The so-called fall-out with his sister-in-law Meghan Markle (pictured together in 2018)  is in the past

Like William whose relationship with his brother Harry remains broken, she has risen above the Sussex noise; she refuses to waste energy on drama concerning the California based couple

Already, speculation that she might join William for a US visit this summer is circulating. He is expected to attend the men’s Fifa World Cup for which both the England and Scotland teams have qualified.

Inevitably the Harry reconciliation question will arise as soon as William steps foot in America.

But William and Catherine are over it.

It won’t happen and, should they come stateside, William and Catherine will remain miles away from Montecito.

Catherine’s refusal to be drawn into public quarrels embodies her resilience.

Duty without complaint. Warmth without exposure.

When history beckons and the time comes for her to sit next to husband King William on the throne, Queen Catherine will not arrive with fireworks, but poise. Control.

All those hours swimming through cold water have taught her that. Since getting the ‘all clear’ she has put herself, her health and family first.

Now, after the most challenging time of her life, those close to her say she is ready to take the plunge back into full time public life.

Robert Jobson is the author of the New York Times bestseller Catherine, The Princess of Wales. His new book The Windsor Legacy is published by Pegasus Books this week.