Catherine, Princess of Wales has 'spiritual' relationship with nature

Catherine, Princess of Wales has a “very spiritual, very intense” relationship with nature.

The 43-year-old royal - who spent much of the last year out of the spotlight while receiving cancer treatment - admitted being outdoors has helped her to find a "sense of peace" in an "otherwise busy world" as she joined the Scouts on a secret trip to the Lake District to meet Dwayne Fields, the new Chief Scout.

In a video promoting the Scouts - of which Catherine is joint President along with the Duke of Kent - the 43-year-old princess said: "I find it a very spiritual and very intense emotional reconnection, these environments.

"Not everyone has the same relationship perhaps with nature.

"But it is so, therefore, meaningful for me as a place to balance and find a sort of sense of peace and reconnection in what is otherwise a very busy world."

Catherine spent time with a group of 10 to 15-year-old scouts on the trip last month as they worked towards achieving their naturalist badges.

She said to them: “It’s so beautiful because so many of the walks here, you can see Lake Windermere because it’s huge, isn’t it?

“Look how hilly it is over here. Have you done any of these big mountains?”

And the princess - who has Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, nine, and six-year-old Prince Louis with husband Prince William - praised how much impact the organisation can have for young people.

She added: “What’s so fantastic about the Scouts is that all those same foundations that have always been there.

“It still resonates for so many young people, and it’s making such a massive difference to them.”