Catherine, Princess of Wales, made her first public appearance since her cancer diagnosis on Saturday, riding in a horse-drawn carriage with her three children and attending a parade celebrating her father-in-law’s birthday. , Charles III.
Crowds gathered in central London to watch the princess and her family take part in an event filled with military traditions, music and beauty pageants. Her appearance is being hailed as a sign that her health has improved and a meaningful moment for the British royal family, who suffered another blow this year with Prince Charles’ announcement that he, too, had cancer.
But late on Friday the princess announced that she was well enough to attend Saturday’s event, making it clear that her recovery was still far from over.
Catherine, 42, said in a statement to the media: “I’m making good progress, but as anyone going through chemotherapy will know there are good days and bad days.” “On bad days like that, you feel weak and tired and you need to give your body some rest,” she added. “But on good days, when I feel stronger, I want to make the most of feeling good.”
Catherine watched the military parade in a state carriage with her three children – Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. The princess took a short carriage ride, occasionally waving her hand and traveling to watch her ceremony from her indoor observatory. She is also scheduled to appear on the Buckingham Palace balcony with the rest of her royal family to watch the RAF flyover.
Her husband, Prince William of Wales, Colonel of the Welsh Guards, was riding a horse in full dress. The princess, who is a colonel in the Irish Guards, wore a white dress with black trim by Jenny Packham, a hat by Philip Treacy and a regimental Irish Guards brooch.
Catherine was hospitalized for abdominal surgery in January and had not been seen at any public events this year until Saturday. Last March, she publicly revealed that she was undergoing preventive chemotherapy.
In another sign of Catherine’s progress, her office said she has begun working from home occasionally and is meeting with her official team when she feels able. The princess also said in her statement that she would like to participate in some public events over the summer, but added that she was “not out of the woods yet.”
Evidence of her recovery will be particularly welcomed by the royal family as her health problems overlap with those of King Charles, who underwent cancer treatment in January. He has begun his return to public life and last week attended an event in France to mark the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings that marked the end of World War II.
On Saturday, Charles, who would have celebrated his 75th birthday in November, rode a carriage rather than his usual horseback ride during the procession known as Trooping the Color.
The event, which has been the official celebration of the King’s birthday for more than 260 years, is based on a parade that starts at Buckingham Palace and travels along the flag-decorated Mall to Horse Guards Parade, St Peter’s ceremonial parade ground. After looking around James Park, we head back to the palace.
He arrived at the cavalry parade and inspected the troops in their uniforms of red tunics and bearskin hats. Among the spectators watching the complex military event were British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty.
The celebration will also include a 41-gun salute at Green Park.
The parade is expected to include about 1,400 soldiers, 400 musicians and 200 horses. They include three horses from the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment that ran away and were injured during a rehearsal last April.
