Kate Middleton's return is a major boost to King Charles: Royal will delight in having his 'beloved daughter-in-law' at his official birthday celebrations
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- Princess of Wales will join family at Trooping The Colour on Saturday
- READ MORE: Inside the late Queen's relationship with Kate Middleton
The Princess of Wales has today announced that she will be attending Trooping the Colour tomorrow to support King Charles at one of the most important events in the royal calendar.
Kate, 42, has been away from the public eye for months after announcing that she was diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer and has been since undergoing preventative chemotherapy.
The Princess missed the Colonel's Review, the traditional rehearsal for Trooping the Colour, last Saturday and questions were raised as to whether she would attend the annual event.
But it has been announced today that the mother will be by her husband's side tomorrow, alongside their three children, Prince Louis, Prince George and Princess Charlotte.
It will come as a huge boost to King Charles - who has also partially resumed his royal duties whilst undergoing chemotherapy for cancer - to have his 'beloved daughter-in-law' present.
To mark the news that Kate will be attending, Kensington Palace have also released a stunning new portrait of the princess taken at Windsor this week by Matt Porteous showing her looking well and in a reflective mood
It has been announced today that Kate will be attending Trooping the Colour tomorrow. Above: The Princess pictured with her husband Prince William and their children Prince Louis, Princess Charlotte and Prince George
The King has been present at garden parties and visited charities after making encouraging progress with his treatment.
While it's understood that Kate's attendance tomorrow does not signal a return to royal duties, she has no doubt been heartened by her father-in-law's example - succesfully managing his public engagements with ongoing treatment.
In her statement today, she said that she plans to 'do a little work from home' over the summer and hopes to 'join a few public engagements over the summer'.
After Kate's cancer announcement, King Charles said he was 'so proud of Catherine for her courage' in speaking about her journey with treatment.
'His Majesty is 'so proud of Catherine for her courage in speaking as she did',' Buckingham Palace said in March.
The pair also had a private lunch together the day before Kate courageously revealed her cancer diagnosis to the world, which left the King feeling 'very emotional'.
The close relationship with Kate was already in evidence when Charles and Camilla visited Kate at The London Clinic while she was recovering from abdominal surgery earlier this year.
After Kate's cancer announcement, King Charles said he was 'so proud of Catherine for her courage' in speaking about her journey with treatment'. Above: The pair pictured together in 2021
The then-Duchess of Cambridge and Prince of Wales have been snapped sharing a chuckle on a number of occasions, including during this event at the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre Stanford Hall in Loughborough in February 2020
Although the monarch was receiving treatment at the same hospital himself, it was still an unusual break with royal tradition and his late mother, for instance, would not typically visit her husband Prince Philip's bedside and vice versa.
It was a testament to how close the King is to his daughter-in-law, who he's bonded with over their shared love of art.
The King reportedly thinks she is doing a ‘wonderful’ job bringing up George, Charlotte and Louis, and now gets to spend more time with his son's family now they live just a few minutes drive away from Windsor Castle.
Indeed, the King gave an insight into the high regard he has for Kate when he sweetly mentioned the Prince and Princess of Wales in his keynote speech at a state banquet in Nairobi.
King Charles, 74, who has been accompanied by Queen Camilla, recalled Prince William and Kate's 2010 engagement in Kenya.
He said: 'It was here, in sight of Mount Kenya, that my son, The Prince of Wales, proposed to his wife, now my beloved daughter-in-law.'
It will uplifting for Charles to have his daughter-in-law by his side tomorrow, given Kate's popularity.
According to IPSOS, Kate is the most popular royal, with 69 per cent in favour of the Princess of Wales, followed by her husband, Prince William.
Images showing the closeness, such as this photo from the service of thanksgiving for the Queen at St Paul's cathedral on June 2022 make it clear why Charles has several times said that the family is 'lucky' to have Kate
She is also one of the hardest-working senior royals who undertook 128 engagements in 2023.
In recent years, the Buckingham Palace balcony has been looking increasingly bare, given King Charles is in favour of a 'slimmed down' Monarchy.
In the days of the late Queen, it was not unusual for around 40 royals to show their faces on the balcony to watch the flypast and wave to well-wishers.
But in 2022, it was whittled down to 18 and last year only 14 members of the Firm made the cut.
In 2011, Kate made her debut on the Buckingham Palace balcony at Trooping the Colour as the Duchess of Cambridge, shortly after her marriage to Prince William and has been a constant presence at the event ever since.
The Princess will ride in a carriage with her children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis before appearing on the Buckingham Palace balcony alongside the rest of the Royal Family.
In her message, the Princess says she has been 'blown away' by all the kind messages of support and encouragement over the last couple of months.
'It really has made the world of difference to William and me and has helped us both through some of the harder times,' she wrote.
In Kate's message released today, she admitted that she has 'good days and bad days' but that she is 'making good progress' with her treatment.
Kate's message also stated: '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.
'My treatment is ongoing and will be for a few more months.
'On the days I feel well enough, it is a joy to engage with 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.
'I'm looking forward to attending The King's Birthday Parade this weekend with my family and hope to join a few public engagements over the summer, but equally knowing I am not out of the woods yet.
'I am learning how to be patient, especially with uncertainty. Taking each day as it comes, listening to my body, and allowing myself to take this much needed time to heal.
'Thank you so much for your continued understanding, and to all of you who have so bravely shared your stories with me.'
To mark the news that Kate will be attending, Kensington Palace have also released a stunning new portrait of the princess taken at Windsor this week by Matt Porteous showing her looking well and in a reflective mood.
