King Charles III’s forthcoming birthday parade will feature an appearance from Kate Middleton, marking her first public appearance since revealing that she has been diagnosed with an unspecified form of cancer. The Princess of Wales is expected to appear alongside the royal family on the Buckingham Palace balcony on Saturday.
“I am making good progress, but as anyone going through chemotherapy will know, there are good days and bad days,” Middleton shared in a statement. “On those bad days you feel weak, tired and you have to give in to your body resting. But on the good days, when you feel stronger, you want to make the most of feeling well. My treatment is ongoing and will be for a few more months. On the days I feel well enough, it is a joy to engage with school life, spend personal time on the things that give me energy and positivity, as well as starting to do a little work from home.”
She continued: “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. 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. Thank you so much for your continued understanding, and to all of you who have so bravely shared your stories with me.”
Middleton’s appearance at the parade, known as Trooping the Colour, will be her first since December. Prior to her diagnosis being revealed, her weeks-long absence from the public eye at the start of the year led to the circulation of bizarre conspiracy theories about her whereabouts, health, and safety. That Kensington Palace released a poorly edited photograph of the Princess with her three children didn’t help their case.
Middleton had been recovering from abdominal surgery after being discharged from the hospital in January, at which time it was expressed that she was “unlikely to return to public duties until after Easter.” The announcement of her cancer diagnosis followed in March. “This of course came as a huge shock,” Middleton said at the time. “And William and I have been doing everything we can to process and manage this privately for the sake of our young family.”
The Princess appearing at the forthcoming parade is not expected to signal any formal return to her royal duties. “I have been blown away by all the kind messages of support and encouragement over the last couple of months,” Middletone wrote in her statement. “It really has made the world of difference to William and me and has helped us both through some of the harder times.”