U.K. royals unite with Kate back at her first public event since cancer diagnosis
Global News
It was Kate's first appearance at a public event since December. She disclosed in March that she was undergoing chemotherapy for an unspecified form of cancer.
LONDON (AP) — Britain put on a display of birthday pageantry Saturday for King Charles III, a military parade that marked the Princess of Wales ’ first appearance at a public event since her cancer diagnosis early this year.
The annual event was also a show of stability by the monarchy after a testing few months in which both the king and Kate, wife of heir to the throne Prince William, have been sidelined by cancer treatment.
In a symbolic display of unity, Charles, Queen Camilla, William, Kate and their children were joined by other members of the royal family on a Buckingham Palace balcony at the end of the King’s Birthday Parade. The family waved to the gathered crowd as they watched a flyby of military aircraft to cap ceremonies marking the monarch’s official birthday.
It was Kate’s first appearance at a public event since December. She disclosed in March that she was undergoing chemotherapy for an unspecified form of cancer.
“I am making good progress, but as anyone going through chemotherapy will know, there are good days and bad days,” Kate said in a statement released Friday, adding that she faces “a few more months” of treatment.
Kate said she is “not out of the woods yet” and officials stress that Saturday’s engagement doesn’t herald a full return to public life.
Huge crowds turn out each June to watch the birthday parade, also known as Trooping the Color, which begins with a procession involving horses, musicians and hundreds of soldiers in ceremonial uniform from Buckingham Palace.
The 42-year-old princess traveled in a horse-drawn carriage from the palace down the grand avenue known as the Mall with her children George, 10, Charlotte, 9, and 6-year-old Louis. Bystanders cheered as they caught a glimpse of Kate, dressed in a white dress by designer Jenny Packham and wide-brimmed Philip Treacy hat.
