Trooping the Colour 2024: Kate Returns!
Everything we know about the princess’s planned appearance — with her children — at the king’s birthday celebration on Saturday.
Note: This post has been updated following Trooping! Scroll down to see pictures from Saturday.
Catherine, the Princess of Wales, announced Friday that she would attend Trooping the Colour this weekend, her first public appearance of the year. The military parade and Windsor family gathering on the balcony of Buckingham Palace is the official celebration of the monarch’s birthday — and one of the most-anticipated events on the royal calendar.
“I’m looking forward to attending The King’s Birthday Parade this weekend with my family,” the princess said in a very personal statement.
Catherine is expected to ride down The Mall in a state carriage with her three children and join the royal family on the balcony for the Royal Air Force fly-past. It will be the princess’s first time in public since Christmas, following the news she shared in March that she had been diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer. In her statement on Friday, Catherine offered a bit of an update on her treatment.
“I am making good progress, but as anyone going through chemotherapy will know, there are good days and bad days. 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,” the princess wrote.
In addition to Saturday’s appearance, Kate shared, “[I] hope to join a few public engagements over the summer, but equally knowing I am not out of the woods yet.”
Below, more on what to expect from Kate’s — careful, limited — return to public life as well as what will be different at Trooping this year for the king, who is also in treatment for cancer.
I would love to hear your thoughts on this news! Please click below to share. And plan to come back Saturday morning, too. I hope the comment section of this newsletter can serve as a Trooping discussion thread. (I will update this post then with fresh pictures and news from the celebrations.)
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Trooping the Colour 2024 — Kate Returns!
First things first, how is Catherine?
The Princess of Wales released a personal statement on Friday with an update on her health and the news that she will be attending Trooping the Colour this weekend.
Catherine wrote that she is “making good progress” with her chemotherapy but that she is “not out of the woods yet,” with days that are both good and bad. She also thanked the public for their support, saying she has been “blown away by all the kind messages.”
Kate also said she hopes to make “a few public engagements this summer.” This weekend kicks off a very busy stretch for the royal family — with Garter Day, Royal Ascot and the Japan State Visit in June, as well as Wimbledon in July. (Could we see her at any of those? Keep scrolling).
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