The Princess of Wales has attended Trooping the Colour, her first public appearance since announcing she is being treated for cancer.
The Princess rode by carriage to the King’s Birthday Parade and appeared on the balcony of Buckingham Palace afterwards, to huge cheers and applause. She looked happy and relaxed with her family and clearly enjoyed a very special day.
As she made her appearance, Kensington Palace confirmed that Her Royal Highness hopes to take on further public engagements in the coming months. However, her treatment and health come first. Here’s what to expect as The Princess continues her recovery.
When will we see the Princess of Wales again?
Both The Princess and the Palace have emphasised that any future engagements in the coming months depend on health.
Catherine hopes to take on a few more public duties but decisions will be made very close to the events themselves and so announcements about her attendance will come very close to any appearances.
With a busy royal summer ahead, the Palace won’t make any announcements on some of the big events already planned. However, it is known that Her Royal Highness won’t be at either the Garter service or Royal Ascot, both of which take place in the days immediately after Trooping.
The possibility of taking part in the long awaited State Visit from the Emperor and Empress of Japan remains. And there is also a chance that the Princess will be well enough to present the trophies at Wimbledon. Her support of sport and of one of the biggest showpiece events in the British calendar is well known and very important to her. However, it will depend on how she is feeling at the time.
What about day to day public engagements?
It’s understood that The Princess of Wales is hopeful of taking on a few public appearances in the summer but, again, these will only be confirmed at the very last moment as her health and recovery take precedence.
In her moving statement, The Princess spoke of dealing with uncertainty and having good days and bad days. Any engagements in the coming months will be taken on the advice of her medical team.
What other work is The Princess doing?
Catherine is now working from home much more and talked about the joy she gets from achieving on her ‘’good days’’ as her cancer treatment continues.
The Princess is now holding meetings with official teams and organisations she works alongside when she feels well enough. These take place at Windsor.
As with every member of the Royal Family, meetings held with Private Secretaries and members of staff aren’t recorded publicly in the Court Circular so several of these events have remained private.
As with all other work, the health and recovery of The Princess is paramount.
Will The Princess of Wales announce an autumn schedule of engagements?
The Princess herself said in her statement that her treatment was ongoing and set to last several more months. Even when the active treatment is complete, Her Royal Highness will continue to recuperate and build her strength. She also underwent major abdominal surgery in January and continues to recover from that.
At the moment, The Princess is focusing on getting well. There is no time frame on that.
How is The Princess of Wales?
The Princess said she continues to make good progress and that the support she has had from others in similar situations has helped her enormously.
She also said she has ‘’good days and bad days’’ and is learning to be patient while she gives herself time to recover from a very difficult illness.
At Trooping, she looked very happy, very relaxed – and very beautiful. It was clearly a good day for the Princess and a time of hope.
