Video reveals the man who was by Catherine’s side as she completed gruelling challenge

He has been by Catherine’s side his whole life, and promised he and his family would climb the mountain that was cancer when she announced her diagnosis in 2024.

Now it has been revealed James Middleton was true to his word, after video emerged of him completing the National Three Peaks Challenge alongside his beloved sister, the Princess of Wales.

Watch the video above.

Just days after it was revealed the princess completed the gruelling challenge to raise money for The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity, videos and photos began to emerge of the Princess as she took part in the event, which involves scaling three of the UK’s highest peaks, scattered across three countries, in just 24 hours.

Now a new video has appeared on Instagram that showed the princess walking down the final descent while holding the hand of her younger brother, who is walking behind her.

The video was uploaded to Instagram by someone who had completed the event. 

“There I was, congratulating fellow climbers as they made their way down the windy summit… little did I know I was actually speaking to royalty,” the post said.

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The accompanying video showed a smiling Catherine, wearing tiny red shorts and matching socks with her hiking boots, as well as a long-sleeve shirt, vest and cap, and carrying her own backpack, holding hands with James as he trailed behind.

The fact James, 39, was by his sister’s side is no surprise.

When Catherine announced in March 2024 she had been diagnosed with cancer after undergoing major abdominal surgery two months earlier, he took to Instagram with his own message.

“Over the years, we have climbed many mountains together,” he wrote alongside a photo of himself and Catherine wearing matching red backpacks from what appeared to be the top of a hill.

“As a family we will climb this one with you.”

The latest video taken of the pair during the National Three Peaks Challenge was reportedly taken on Mount Snowden Summit in Wales, one of the three peaks that make up the event.

It marked the final leg of the journey, which begins in Scotland by scaling the UK’s tallest peak, Ben Nevis.

That leg is 17km and takes five to six hours to complete. 

Next, participants head to Scafell Pike in England and spend four to five hours mastering that peak.

Finally, participants head to Snowdon in Wales and spend another four to five hours traversing the peak.

In between each leg, they drive four-and-a-half to six hours between the mountains.

The Princess’s involvement was kept secret during the challenge, with her participation only made public in her own social media post via the Prince and Princess of Wales’ social media accounts.

Only then did it emerge that she had happily rubbed shoulders and posed for photos and videos while speaking to other participants, including a young boy called Ted, who had been paralysed since he was three as a result of a tumour that crushed his spinal cord.

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His father has since told media outlets in the UK she asked them to keep her secret that she was doing the challenge.

Another video has also emerged of the Princess speaking encouragingly to Ted and checking he “wasn’t too cold” during the event, which saw his dad and friends carry him up each of the peaks in his wheelchair to raise money for his chosen charity, Molly Ollys.

Catherine later posted a message on Ted’s fundraising page and was also believed to have made a private donation.

“One of the real highlights of the Three Peaks Challenge was meeting inspiring people like you along the way,” Catherine wrote. “Huge congratulations to the entire team for raising money for such a wonderful cause.”

Ted told BBC Radio WM he didn’t know who the Princess was at first.

“When I did realise [it was her] I just thought it was amazing and incredible.”

His father, Pete said he was also in the dark.

“The first time we ran into her, I was at the back of the group and I obviously knew we’d stopped to speak to someone, but I didn’t know who they were speaking to,” he said.

He said Catherine initiated the conversation with the group after seeing Ted in his wheelchair.

“She was lovely, she was being very motherly to Ted, asking all the questions a mum would ask, seeing if he was warm enough, if he’d got some sleep after the first mountain, and it was lovely,” he said.

“When she went past us on the second morning she said ‘Hi Ted’ we were double-taking [that] she’d remembered his name. It was amazing.”

Catherine chose to raise money for the Royal Marsden Hospital’s charity, as that was where she carried out her own cancer treatment. She returned there in January 2025 to mark her remission.