Catherine, Princess of Wales, made her first public appearance since being diagnosed with cancer on Saturday, smiling as she rode in a carriage with her three children as she took part in a procession to celebrate the birthday of her father-in-law, King Charles III.
Crowds gathered in central London to watch the princess and her family attend an event filled with military tradition, music and pageantry, with only a light rain dampening the mood. Her appearance was welcomed as a sign of her improvement and a significant moment for the British royal family, which suffered another blow this year when King Charles announced he, too, had cancer.
However, Announced late Friday When asked if she had recovered enough to attend Saturday’s event, the princess made it clear her recovery still had some way to go.
“I am getting better, but as anyone who has been through chemotherapy knows, there are good days and bad days,” Katherine, 42, said in a statement to the media. “On those bad days, you feel weak, tired, and you have to let your body rest,” she added. “But on the good days, when you feel stronger, you want to make the most of that feeling.”
Catherine watched the parade from the state carriage with her three children – Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. The princess occasionally waved during the short carriage ride, then watched the ceremony from her vantage point indoors. She will also appear on the balcony of Buckingham Palace with other members of the royal family to watch the Royal Air Force flypast.
Her husband, Prince William of Wales, will ride a horse during the event.
Katherine was hospitalized for abdominal surgery in January and until Saturday, she had not appeared at any official events this year. She publicly stated that she is undergoing preventive chemotherapy.
In another sign of Catherine’s recovery, her office said she has begun working from home occasionally and meeting with her official team when she feels able. The princess also said in the statement that she hopes to take part in some public events over the summer, while adding that she is “not out of the woods yet.”
Her signs of recovery will be particularly welcome by the royal family as her health issues mirror those of King Charles, who underwent cancer treatment in January. King Charles has begun to return to public life, attending ceremonies in France last week to mark the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings that marked the end of World War II.
Prince Charles, who celebrated his 75th birthday in November, rode in a horse-drawn carriage rather than on horseback as usual for Trooping the Colour ceremony on Saturday.
This event, as the official celebration of the British monarch’s birthday, has a history of more than 260 years. The main content is a parade, starting from Buckingham Palace, along the boulevard decorated with flags, to the Royal Horse Guards Parade next to St. James’s Park, and finally returning to Buckingham Palace.
The King arrived at Horse Guards Parade and inspected soldiers in red uniforms and bearskin hats, and the celebrations also included a 41-gun salute in Green Park.
The parade is expected to involve about 1,400 soldiers, 400 musicians and 200 horses, including Three from the Household Cavalry He escaped and was injured during a rehearsal in April.
