The popular Princess Kate turns 43 on Thursdaye anniversary, with a special flavor after a year marked by her cancer, from which she hopes to have turned the page to resume her role with more assiduity alongside her husband William. Kensington Palace has not indicated where the Princess of Wales plans to celebrate the event, which she usually spends surrounded by her loved ones, in the family residence in Norfolk.
Scrutinized at every public appearance, known throughout the world, Kate, with her slim figure and long brown hair, fascinates. And the difficult past year was no exception. Firstly because of the mystery surrounding her illness, which the princess revealed in a moving video in March after weeks of speculation, fueled by her absence and a controversy over a photo of her and her children which had been retouched .
Then, during the many months when Kate remained discreet, focused on her chemotherapy treatment, the end of which she announced with “relief” in early September in a new video. Filmed in August, she appeared in the countryside accompanied by her husband and their three children, George, 11 years old, Charlotte, 9 years old, and Louis, 6 years old, and spoke in voice-over of “incredibly hard” months and her will to “continue to take each day as it comes.”
Rare appearances
Immensely popular since her 2011 marriage to William, which marked her official entry into the royal family, Kate is adored by the press, particularly the powerful tabloids, who praise her elegance and warm attitude towards the public. The daughter of a flight attendant and an air traffic controller who made her fortune starting a party supplies company, she met William in the early 2000s at the University of St Andrews, Scotland, where she studied art history.
Her rare public appearances last year made the headlines in the British media, in particular her radiant presence, at the end of December, at the traditional Christmas carol concert that the princess organized at Westminster Abbey. She dedicated it to all those “who have gone through difficult times.”
Before that, she attended the Emir of Qatar’s state visit to the UK in early December and attended the annual memorial concert in November to honor fallen British soldiers. She also accompanied William in October to the town of Southport, where three little girls were killed this summer in an attack that shocked the country. She had previously appeared only twice in public: on June 15 for the birthday parade of King Charles, on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, then at the Wimbledon final in early July.
Looking to the future
The princely couple is now looking to the future and the princess is expected to increase her public commitments, particularly in connection with the charitable organizations she supports, for education and early childhood. A trip abroad with Prince William is also not excluded, according to the latter. “I hope Catherine will do a bit more (traveling) next year, so we might have some more trips planned,” William said during his visit to South Africa in November.
The princess has not made an official visit abroad for more than 14 months and her trip to France during the Rugby World Cup. It was alone that Prince William flew abroad in recent months, after several weeks of a reduced schedule to stay by his wife’s side during her treatment. In November, the heir to the throne confided that the past year, also marked by the cancer of his father, King Charles III, had been “the hardest” of his life.
(afp/er)
