While attending the 2023 event, the Duchess of Cambridge gave an update on her battle with cancer. “I am recovering well, but as anyone undergoing chemotherapy knows, there are good days and bad days,” she said in a statement on June 14, adding that her treatment will continue for “several more months.”
Associated Press
LONDON — The Princess of Wales said Friday that her cancer treatment is “progressing well” and will attend the royal Trooping the Colour ceremony on Saturday, marking Kate's first public appearance since her diagnosis.
The wife of Prince William, 42, has not been seen in public this year after she announced in March that she was undergoing chemotherapy for an unspecified type of cancer.
“I am recovering well but, as anyone undergoing chemotherapy knows, there are good days and bad days,” Kate said in a statement on Friday, adding that her treatment will continue for “several more months.”
“I'm looking forward to attending the King's Birthday Parade with my family this weekend and I hope to attend some public events over the summer, but at the same time I know the crisis is not over yet,” Kate said.
While the announcement marks a significant milestone, it does not mean that Kate will be returning to full-time royal duties.
The “Court March,” also known as the King's Birthday Parade, is an annual military parade celebrating the monarch's official birthday in June. King Charles III, who is currently undergoing treatment for an unspecified form of cancer, will oversee the ceremony. During the ceremony, soldiers in full uniform will march in front of the king, carrying the ceremonial flag, or “standard.”
Kate will ride in a horse-drawn carriage from Buckingham Palace with the couple's children, Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 9, and Prince Louis, 6, and will then watch the ceremony from a building next to Parade Square, and may also appear on Buckingham Palace's traditional balcony with other royals.
Kate's announcement in March came after a flurry of speculation on social media about her health and absence from public appearances. She has provided few details about her illness, which she discovered after undergoing major abdominal surgery in January.
In a video message in March, Kate said the diagnosis was “a huge shock. William and I take it personally and have been doing all we can to cope for the sake of our young family.”
On Friday, Kate thanked the public, saying she had been “touched by the kind messages of support and encouragement.”
“I am learning to be patient, especially in times of uncertainty, taking each day as it comes, listening to my body, and allowing myself to take this time I need to heal,” she said. “I'm so grateful for everyone's continued understanding and for those of you who were brave enough to share your experiences with me.”
Prince Charles, 75, announced his cancer diagnosis in February and has recently been gradually returning to royal duties, including this week attending the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings, the June 6, 1944, invasion of Nazi-occupied Europe.
Prince Charles is expected to travel to Saturday's ceremony in a horse-drawn carriage with Camilla, and is expected to watch the ceremony from a seat on stage rather than riding a horse as he did last year.
Read more at The Mercury News
