She is back. Absent from any official commitment since Christmas in order to follow preventive chemotherapy against cancer which she herself had announced in a video at the end of March, the wife of Prince William was warmly acclaimed by the public who came in large numbers to attend the parade military “Trooping the Color” organized every June.
Dressed in a long white coat and a hat, Kate Middleton, 42, first traveled the Mall in a carriage with her three children – George, 10, Charlotte, 9, and Louis, 6 – until Horse Guards Parade where the ceremony took place, before heading to Buckingham Palace and appearing on the balcony with the rest of the royal family.
Very smiling, chatting with her children, William, or even King Charles III, also treated for cancer and who stood by her side, she attended the air parade, slightly delayed by the rain, before greeting the crowd. “It’s amazing to see her at such an important event.“, enthused Sarah Morley to AFP, a 45-year-old Australian tourist, present near the Mall.
“She is very natural, like Diana, she is good“for the monarchy, insists his mother, Julie Smith, born in England.”I was so happy to hear the news last night.“, enthuses Angela Perry, a 50-year-old teacher from Reading in west London. “She’s our future queen, she’s so important“, she insists.
“Good days and bad days”
Friday evening, the princess announced in a message published on social networks – her first speech since the announcement of her illness – that she would attend this festive event due to “good progress“of his treatment.”As anyone undergoing chemotherapy knows, there are good days and bad days.“, Kate wrote again, in this message, accompanied by a photo taken this week in Windsor according to her services, specifying that her treatment had to last”for several more months“.
“I hope to be able to participate in some public engagements this summer, knowing that I am not out of the woods yet“, she added, thanking the public for their support. The 75-year-old king, also suffering from cancer and currently undergoing treatment, also participated in the military parade in honor of his birthday, even if he will actually celebrate it on November 14.
He traveled in a carriage down the Mall, accompanied by Queen Camilla, before receiving a salute from the troops. Last year, he led the procession on horseback, like his son Prince William, his sister and brother Princess Anne and Prince Edward, all three of whom maintained the tradition this year, dressed in their military uniform.
The sovereign resumed his public engagements at the end of April, after his doctors said “sufficiently satisfied with the progress made so far“. He notably went to France at the beginning of June with Queen Camilla for the celebrations of the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings. And the royal couple is to receive Emperor Naruhito of Japan and his wife Empress Masako at the end of June for a state visit.
The military parade was held under heavy police surveillance, while the anti-monarchy movement Republic planned to demonstrate. Early Saturday, activists were already present along the Mall, shouting the slogan “Not my King”, brandishing yellow flags, the color of this movement, while another group calling itself “The Royalists” shouted “God save the King”, British flag in hand.
