Princess Kate will not be the Inspecting Officer at this year’s Trooping of the Colour event amid her cancer battle, the palace confirmed. Moreover, she will skip the dress rehearsal for the event next month, according to multiple outlets. However, it’s unclear whether or not she plans to attend the event, which is scheduled to take place on June 15.
Last week, a spokesperson for Kensington Palace noted that the Princess of Wales, 42, is still committed to her duties — primarily her Royal Foundation Business Taskforce for Early Childhood — despite not being able to attend public events at the moment.
“This is a clear commitment she has made throughout her life of public service that this will be focus,” the representative told Daily Mail on May 21. “That will continue when she returns to work. But we have been really clear that she needs the space and the privacy to recover right now.”
While adding that Kate “was the driving force behind the business task force,” the spokesperson pointed out that she “has been kept up to date since the inception of the task force, and she has read the report and been briefed on it.” However, she is unable to make a full return to her duties until she gets “the green light from doctors,” the rep concluded.
In March, Kate revealed that she was diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer. She explained in a video message that it was discovered after she underwent a planned abdominal surgery, which was “successful,” she noted.
“My medical team therefore advised that I should undergo a course of preventative chemotherapy, and I am now in the early stages of that treatment,” she explained at the time.
Acknowledging that her diagnosis “came as a huge shock” to her and her family, Kate pointed out that her priority was to follow her doctors’ orders and to assure her children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, that she is “going to be OK.” The royal shares her kids with husband Prince William, who has been a “great source of comfort and reassurance” to Kate, she said in her video.
“My work has alway brought me a deep sense of joy, and I look forward to being back when I’m able,” she said, before concluding, “But for now, I must focus on making a full recovery.”