The Subtle Way Kate Middleton Acknowledged She’s ‘Not as Strong’ as Before at Trooping the Colour
Kate Middleton was all smiles when she attended Trooping the Colour, but there was one—albeit very small—sign she’s “not as fit” amid her ongoing cancer treatment. According to a royal expert and author, how the Princess of Wales took in one element of the June 15, 2024, celebration was a giveaway she’s not gotten her strength back yet.
The Princess of Wales sat down to watch the Trooping the Colour parade
Kate did it all at Trooping the Colour. She watched the parade, and rode in a carriage with Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 9, and Prince Louis, 6, before standing with Prince William, King Charles III, Queen Camilla, and other royals on the Buckingham Palace balcony to watch the military flyover.
However, according to royal expert Katie Nicholl, there was one moment when Kate subtly acknowledged where she was at in her life.
“She was on her feet for a long period of time,” Nicholl told ET. “There was a moment where she was watching the parade…and was offered a seat, which she gratefully accepted.”
It wasn’t a major moment but rather a telling one in which Kate acknowledged her body may not be the same as it once was. “That’s just a bit of an acknowledgement [sic] that she is not as strong, not as fit, as she was before she went into this treatment,” the expert said.
Kate announced her cancer diagnosis in a rare video statement on March 22, 2024, after undergoing abdominal surgery two months earlier. Trooping the Colour marked her first public appearance since Christmas Day 2023.
Kate likely put a ‘huge amount of preparation’ into her Trooping the Colour appearance
Going to Trooping the Colour was no small feat for Kate. According to Nicholl, the future queen likely put a lot of thought and effort into the appearance.
“The princess has this sort of swan-like quality about her. She’s sort of gliding on the surface but beneath the water, I think often she’s paddling quite frantically,” the New Royals author said. “I can only imagine that a huge amount of preparation and time and effort and energy will have gone into Saturday’s appearance.”
The preparation seemed to have paid off because Kate “looked impeccable” to Nicholl. “If you didn’t know that she was going through cancer treatment, you would never have guessed.”
Kate Middleton admitted to having ‘good days and bad days’ before Trooping the Colour
Prior to making her first public appearance in 2024, Kate released her plan to be at Trooping the Colour in an emotional social media statement.
Alongside a portrait taken by photographer Matt Porteous a week earlier, the 42-year-old not only thanked the public for their support but acknowledged she has “good days and bad days.”
“I am making good progress, but as anyone going through chemotherapy will know, there are good days and bad days,” Kate said (via Instagram).
“On those bad days, you feel weak, tired, and you have to give in to your body resting. But on the good days, when you feel stronger, you want to make the most of feeling well.”
Noting her treatment will continue for “a few more months,” Kate said when she feels “well enough” she likes to take part in “school life, spend personal time on the things that give me energy and positivity, as well as starting to do a little work from home.”
She also shared her “hope to join a few public engagements over the summer” with the knowledge she’s “not out of the woods yet.”
