TV personality Davina McCall met royals including King Charles, Queen Camilla and the Princess of Wales at St James’s Palace tonight.
The King and Queen welcomed guests on Tuesday evening for a reception marking Cancer Research UK’s 125th anniversary.
The occasion took on added significance when Kensington Palace revealed just hours beforehand that the Princess of Wales would be making an unexpected appearance.
Catherine’s attendance alongside Their Majesties transformed the gathering into a deeply moving affair, given both she and the King have faced their own battles with the disease.
Mrs McCall, who announced earlier this year she had received the “all clear” after she was diagnosed with breast cancer last October, shook hands with the royals as they made their way around the room.
The broadcaster also suffered from a benign brain tumour and underwent surgery in 2024.
Tonight, she wore a cobalt-blue short-sleeve midi dress with matching blue high-heeled sandals.
The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester also greeted Mrs McCall as they joined the senior royals for the milestone celebration, which served as the official launch of the charity’s anniversary commemorations.
“It was a really wonderful exchange, and they (royals) are all wonderful,” Mrs McCall said after the meeting.
“I can’t imagine what it must be like having going through something like cancer and then sort of having to tell people about it, when possibly it would have been much easier and nicer to not have to share it with the world.
TV personality Davina McCall met King Charles, Queen Camilla and the Princess of Wales at St James’s Palace tonight
|
PA
“And I’ve got to say, after my brain tumour, I didn’t massively want to have to do that myself.”
She later added: “But it really helped me get through it by sharing it, and other people relating, or feeling like I could help.”
The Princess of Wales looked radiant as she joined the King and Queen for the evening’s festivities, her vibrant outfit making a bold statement at the prestigious gathering.
The evening held profound personal meaning for both Catherine and her father-in-law.
The Princess discovered her cancer during abdominal surgery in 2024, subsequently announcing in March that year she would undergo chemotherapy treatment.
By September, her treatment had concluded, and she declared herself in remission at the beginning of 2025.
Catherine looked radiant as she met Davina McCall
|
PA
The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester also greeted Davina McCall as they joined the senior royals for the milestone celebration
|
PA
The King, who received his own diagnosis just weeks after Catherine in 2024, continues to receive treatment for an undisclosed form of the disease.
In December 2025, the monarch shared encouraging news through a Stand Up To Cancer campaign video, describing his progress as “a personal blessing and testimony to remarkable advances that have been made in cancer care”.
Cancer Research UK’s work over more than a century has yielded remarkable results, with survival rates for British cancer patients doubling in the past fifty years.
The charity, which traces its roots to the Imperial Cancer Research Fund, founded in 1902, and the Cancer Research Campaign established in 1923, has played a pivotal role in developing treatments now used nationwide.
Some 80 per cent of cancer drugs currently administered to patients across Britain were created by or in partnership with the organisation.
His Majesty became the patron of the charity in 2024, while the Duke of Gloucester and Princess Alexandra hold positions as joint presidents.