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.
Fans of the royal family had high hopes that Catherine, Princess of Wales would attend the traditional Trooping the Colour ceremony on Saturday after reports emerged that her health had “turned a corner”.
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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”.
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.
Every June, The Trooping the Colour publicly celebrates the birthday of the monarch — regardless of the actual date — and features a ceremonial presentation of the British military’s regimental flags, called “colours”.
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.
The letter, written on June 9, read: “I wanted to write and let you know how proud I am of the entire Regiment ahead of the Colonel’s Review and Trooping the Colour.
“I appreciate everyone trooping this year has been practising for months, and dedicating many hours to ensuring their uniforms and drill are immaculate.
“Being your colonel remains a great honour, and I am very sorry that I’m unable (to) take the salute at this year’s Colonel’s Review.”
Eyes then turned to the event itself and whether Kate would be there, after Vanity Fair royal correspondent Katie Nicholl told The Sun that she had “turned a corner” in her preventative chemotherapy treatment.
“No one wants to have this, you know, off the back of major surgery, a pretty long recovery period, and then she has to go through the treatment,” Nicholl said.
“I think it was a struggle initially and I was very, very relieved to hear from actually more than one source that she has recently turned a corner.”