Kate Middleton's appearance at Trooping the Colour wasn't confirmed until just one day prior, and apparently, the Palace went to great lengths to keep her plans top secret.
A source tells Page Six that Kate kept only a few people in the loop, made "contingency plans if she felt ill on the day," and upcycled a Jenny Packham dress in order to keep things hush-hush. Oh, and the Princess of Wales apparently even "personally" called King Charles to tell him that she'd be there, leaving him "delighted."
Psst: Kate first wore this dress ahead of King Charles's coronation on May 5, 2023:
Meanwhile, royal expert Katie Nicholl tells Entertainment Tonight the following: "There was no pressure on her from anyone. She really wanted to do this. She turned a corner in her treatment... When she turned that corner, I was told that Trooping was a goal for her. She was given the sign-off by her medical team. She spoke to her father-in-law about attending and to Prince William. They were fully behind her."
Nicholl also notes that, "Charles has been a great pillar of support to Catherine when she said that she'd really like to be there at Trooping. He was 100 percent behind it. The idea that she was going to upstage him didn't even cross his mind. He just wanted his daughter-in-law by his side."
Kate was seen standing shoulder to shoulder with King Charles on the Buckingham Palace balcony, which The Telegraph says was fully intentional and speaks "volumes" about the pride His Majesty has in his daughter-in-law.
As for when Kate will be seen in public next, she said in a June 14 statement that she hopes "to join a few public engagements over the summer, but equally knowing I am not out of the woods yet."
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