SARAH, DUCHESS OF YORK

BOUNCING BACK FROM CANCER WITH HER LATEST BOOK SARAH, DUCHESS OF YORK ON FORGING A NEW CAREER WITH HER FAMILY'S SUPPORT AFTER ILLNESS CHANGED HER OUTLOOK ON LIFE

- LAURA BENJAMIN

Inside the fittingly named Royal Suite at the Fairmont Windsor Park hotel, there is a

whirlwind of activity. Lights and cameras are being assembled while hair and make-up artists demonstrate their skills.

And in the midst of all the action is an instantly recognisable flame-haired woman who is chatting away to everyone while simultaneously firing instructions to her team about her charity projects.

Sarah, Duchess of York is on fine form, and given the year she has just had, it’s a pleasure to see her back to her best.

Last summer, she was diagnosed with breast cancer during a routine mammogram, undergoing a single mastectomy; six months later, she was found to have malignant melanoma.

Now, although she has been told by her doctors that she shouldn’t use the phrase “cancer-free” and is having regular check-ups for any recurrence, the outlook is positive.

She got through that time, she says, with the help of her closest loved ones: her children Princess Beatrice, 35, and Princess Eugenie, 34; along with Beatrice’s stepson Wolfie, eight, and daughter Sienna, two; and Eugenie’s sons, three-year-old August and Ernest, who turned one last week.

“I have the most exceptional family and I have an extraordinarily great team and I have an enormous ability to turn to joy,” she tells hello! during this exclusive interview and photoshoot.

Sarah has since made it her mission to encourage people to be vigilant about their health and says the experience has influenced her outlook on life.

“I think it woke me up,” she says. “It gave me a swift kick in the butt and told me: ‘Right, are you going to start living now, at 64, or are you going to keep on not quite living?’”