Kate Middleton made her return to the public eye on Saturday during Trooping the Color 2024, the annual ceremonial event in honor of the official birthday of the British sovereign. Though it was not an official return to royal duties, Kate’s appearance marked a significant milestone for the princess, as it will be her first official royal engagement since announcing her cancer diagnosis earlier this year.
On Friday, the Princess of Wales confirmed her attendance in a heartfelt update shared across Wales’ social media accounts. “I’m looking forward to attending The King’s Birthday Parade this weekend with my family and hope to join a few public engagements over the summer, but equally knowing I am not out of the woods yet,” she wrote in a caption, which accompanied a photograph taken by Matt Porteous. “I am learning how to be patient, especially with uncertainty. Taking each day as it comes, listening to my body, and allowing myself to take this much needed time to heal.”
In March, Kate revealed in a prerecorded video message that she had been diagnosed with cancer and was in the early stages of preventative chemotherapy. The shocking news came a couple of months after the princess underwent planned abdominal surgery, during which cancer had been discovered via postoperative tests.
During Trooping the Color 2024, which took place at Horse Guards Parade ground in London, Kate was joined in a carriage by her three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis. They watched the celebration from the Major General’s office with other family members.
Meanwhile, sources tell Vanity Fair that in the lead-up King Charles, who is also undergoing treatment for an unspecified form of cancer, was “very much looking forward” to the event, which dates back to the 18th century. He first attended Trooping the Color at just three years old and has been participating in the parade since 1975. According to former Buckingham Palace spokesperson Dickie Arbiter, Charles’s attendance was “non-negotiable.” “You really cannot imagine Trooping the Color without the monarch. I understand the king was determined to be at his birthday parade,” he told VF.
