LONDON, June 29 — A Scottish mountaineer says he was speechless after realising the Princess of Wales was climbing Scotland’s Ben Nevis right behind him. Jacky Leung told 7NEWS he was making his way up the mountain when he suddenly recognised the royal figure. “I could not really know what the proper names I should name her because I don’t want to be impolite,” Leung said.
The Princess of Wales reached the summit of Scotland’s highest mountain as part of the Three Peaks Challenge, raising money for cancer research and support. Leung described stormy conditions on the day of the climb.
He said Her Royal Highness wore a cap that covered her face well, making it unlikely other climbers would have recognised her. Leung said he spoke with the Princess, who asked whether he had made it to the top too. “I said yes, we were very lucky to get to the top.
And then she said, well done to me,” he revealed. “I said to her, ‘you were so inspiring’ and then she said ‘thank you.’ I was so happy.
It was just mental.” Leung noted there did not appear to be any bodyguards with the Princess, though two camera operators were present. “When she saw me, she tried her best to keep her smile, be very sincere, be very kind to me. It’s just so down to earth that experience,” he said.
The Princess posted a photo online showing herself at the top of Ben Nevis. In a statement accompanying the image, she wrote about her personal experience with cancer. “Cancer doesn’t just affect the body.
It changes how you think and feel and profoundly affects every aspect of life,” she wrote. “I know this personally, and that the journey through and beyond treatment requires more than medicine alone.
I have taken on the National Three Peaks Challenge, not simply as a physical endeavour but as a chance to explore life beyond diagnosis and to give something back. “The Royal Marsden is a place that holds great…”
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