Kate Middleton put on “her game face” to get through the 2024 Trooping the Colour parade, according to a body language expert.
“Looking at the first photograph of Kate Middleton and Prince William heading to the ceremony together, Kate is using a masking smile. It’s her game face,” Darren Stanton said on behalf of Slingo, according to Business Insider.
The Princess of Wales, 42, made her first public appearance at the annual ceremony in London on Saturday since revealing her cancer diagnosis.
“She’s using this as a way to power through and do the best she can,” Stanton said about Middleton, adding that “her composure appears calm and collected on the outside.”
He also said that her “smile isn’t completely engaged.”
“Internally, she’s feeling a sense of wanting to make people proud, but she is also feeling nervous – which is understandable,” Stanton continued.
Middleton rode in a car alongside her husband Prince William and their three children entering Buckingham Palace before the parade. She only waved to the crowd a few times during the ceremony — which Stanton said is “significant.”
“It makes her come across as quite stoic,” he said. “It appears she’s trying to avoid attention with quite a bit of distance,” he noted.
Middleton stood in between William, 41, and her father-in-law, King Charles, who also has cancer, as they watched the traditional military flyover at Buckingham Palace.
Her children Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 9, and Prince Louis, 6, were also there.
Before her appearance on the balcony with the rest of the royals, Middleton and her children were seen peeking from a window to watch the ceremony at Horse Guards Parade, where she stood for roughly five minutes — at times bending down to speak to the kids — before she was brought a chair.
During the procession, Prince George told Middleton, “Look over there ma,” a lip reader told The Sun.
As the Trooping the Colour kicked off, Middleton received a boisterous ovation from thousands of royal fans who lined the Mall route, as she and her three children traveled in a carriage, while William rode on horseback.
Middleton confirmed she would attend Trooping the Colour as she gave an update on her health on Friday.
In an emotional letter, the princess confirmed that she’s undergoing chemotherapy and is “not out of the woods yet” in her cancer battle.
“I am making good progress, but as anyone going through chemotherapy will know, there are good days and bad days,” she said. “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.”
“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 added.
After missing the rehearsal for Trooping the Colour, Middleton spoke to King Charles, 75, personally to share the news that she was going to the parade, a Buckingham Palace spokesperson told The Post.
Middleton has been largely out of the public eye since revealing her cancer diagnosis.
She told the world about her health woes in a pre-recorded video on March 22 after speculation began swirling about why she had been noticeably absent from the public spotlight.