Catherine, the Princess of Wales, has appeared at Trooping the Colour in her first official engagement since her cancer diagnosis.
The mother-of-three was spotted in a car arriving at Buckingham Palace with her husband Prince William and their three children — Prince George, 10; Princess Charlotte, 9; and Prince Louis, 6 – ahead of the parade on Saturday.
It’s the first sighting of Kate at a public event since she announced in March she was undergoing chemotherapy after an unspecified form of cancer was found during major abdominal surgery in January.
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At the time, her office said she would not return to public duties until her doctors say she is well enough to do so.
However, in a statement on Friday evening, Kate said she was “looking forward” to attending the parade with family, and hoped to join further public engagements over the summer but knows she is “not out of the woods yet”.
Fans of the royal family had high hopes that Kate would attend the traditional Trooping the Colour ceremony on Saturday after reports emerged that her health had “turned a corner”.
The announcement is a significant milestone but does not mark her return to full-time public duties.
The 42-year-old said her treatment was “ongoing” and is expected to continue “for a few more months”.
“I am making good progress, but as anyone going through chemotherapy will know, there are good days and bad days,” she said.
Kate was later seen travelling by horse-drawn carriage with the children as part of the royal procession.
Trooping the Colour, also known as the King’s Birthday Parade, is an annual military parade that occurs each June to mark the monarch’s official birthday in a tradition that dates back more than 260 years.
King Charles III, who also is being treated for an undisclosed form of cancer, will oversee the ceremony, in which troops in full dress uniform parade past the king with their ceremonial flag, or “colour.”
He was seen arriving with Queen Camilla in a car before riding in their carriage as part of the royal procession.
Those who hoped Kate was close to a return to public life were left worried when she was unable to attend Trooping the Colour rehearsals, called the Colonel’s Review. It was later revealed that she had sent a letter to the guards apologising for her absence.
In the letter, Kate – who is the honorary colonel of the regiment – said her position “remains an honour” and “wanted to write to you to let you know how proud I am of the entire regiment”.