Kate Middleton hails ‘powerful, moving and inspiring’ performance at Sadler’s Wells in another encouraging sign of recovery

The Princess of Wales has visited the ballet as she continues her recovery following the news that she has completed chemotherapy.

Kate, 42, appeared to be in the audience for a performance of Akram Khan’s Giselle at London’s Sadler’s Wells theater today, posting a photo of the dancers on stage to the Kensington Palace X/Twitter account.

The royal mother of three wrote: “Congratulations and thank you [English National Ballet] And [Sadler’s Wells’ for the wonderfully powerful, moving and inspiring performance of Akram Khan’s Giselle. Creativity at its best!’

She signed off the post with ‘C’ for Catherine, meaning the message had come personally from her. Alongside the post, Kate shared a photo of the assembly cast onstage, taken by Laurent Liotardo.

Her visit to the theatre is her first public outing since she announced her chemotherapy has ended, and is yet another encouraging sign that she’s continuing on a positive trajectory towards recovery.

In a moving and emotive video released earlier this month, the Princess discussed her cancer journey and how she will continue on the path to recovery.

She said: ‘Although I have finished chemotherapy, my path to healing and full recovery is long and I must continue to take each day as it comes.’

In the days since her message, the Princess’s priorities in her recovery are becoming clearer. 

Kate has been seen attending church on two occasions, in an indication that her faith is taking centre stage as she focuses on staying ‘cancer-free’.

Additionally, her baby steps back into work have shown she is putting her early years project at the centre of her focus; having chaired private meetings in royal residences in relation to her crusade.

As she reveals she has visited the ballet, it is clear that another priority for the princess is simply doing the things she loves.

Kate is a known lover of the ballet and has been spotted in the audience at performances such as The Nutcracker over the years; both alone and with her daughter, Princess Charlotte.

After Kate was spotted at Crathie Kirk Church in Balmoral last weekend, the Mail revealed she and Prince William enjoyed a child-free getaway to the Royal Family‘s estate in Scotland while Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis remained in Berkshire. 

This brief appearance came less than a week after the Princess of Wales hosted her first work meeting in over nine months, which marked the start of her slow and measured return to public duties. 

Last Tuesday, the royal held a meeting at Windsor Castle with those involved in her ‘Early Years’ project, which delves into the crucial role the first few years of a person’s life plays in the adults they become. 

The Princess officially launched the Centre for Early Childhood in 2021 – but has been researching the subject for the past 10 years and has vowed to highlight importance of the issues for the rest of her working life.

Kate was joined by members of her household team as well as representatives from her Centre for Early Childhood at Kensington Palace. 

It was formally recorded in the Court Circular, the official record of royal engagements, which read: ‘The Princess of Wales, Joint Patron, The Royal Foundation of The Prince and Princess of Wales, this afternoon held an Early Years Meeting at Windsor.’

It was the first meeting noted in the Court Circular since the Princess held a round table of her Royal Foundation on December 6 last year.

Earlier this month, the future Queen bravely revealed she has completed chemotherapy and is now ‘focused on staying cancer-free’ as she released a touching new video of William and their three children. 

In the family video, the Princess told viewers that her cancer experience has taught her to appreciate the ‘simple yet important things in life […] of simply loving and being loved’.

The royal then briefly outlined her plan to return to royal duties, acknowledging that she does not want to rush back into matters.

She continued, “Although I have completed chemotherapy, my road to healing and full recovery is long and I must continue to take each day as it comes.

“However, I am looking forward to returning to work in the coming months and, when I can, making a few more public engagements.

Before that, Kate made a fleeting appearance in an Instagram video to congratulate Team GB on their Olympic efforts, which was posted on their official page.

In the short clip, Kate said: “From all of us watching at home, congratulations Team GB.”

The Prince of Wales, wearing an official blue Team GB top, shortly added: “Well done Team GB, you have been an inspiration to us all.”

Just weeks after King Charles announced he had been diagnosed with cancer, his daughter-in-law revealed in an emotional message in March that she was also being treated for the disease.

Since then, the mother of three has only been seen in public a handful of times, including Trooping the Color and the men’s singles final at Wimbledon.

Before her appearance at Trooping the Color in June, the royal released a statement saying she hoped to attend an occasional engagement this summer, but urged the public to be patient with her as she , like many cancer patients, has ‘good days and bad days’.

After spending much of a year coming to terms with the diagnosis and undergoing ongoing chemotherapy, Kate relaxed as she smiled and waved to the delighted crowd – making a triumphant return to public life in a carriage procession for the Trooping the Color ceremony.

Ahead of the men’s singles final at Wimbledon in July, officials remained ‘hopeful’ that Kate would feel well enough to hand out trophies.

Fortunately, their hopes proved justified and in her role as patron of the All England Club, where the annual tournament is held, the royal family presented Alcaraz with the championship trophy after the Wimbledon men’s final.

After leaving the court following the trophy presentation, the princess and Alcaraz had a conversation in a room in the tournament’s main stadium. “You played so well,” Kate told him. ‘Enjoy the victory.’

Earlier, Kate went from the stands to the playing field to present the trophies, and shook hands with some of the ball kids working at the tournament.

Although future public engagements have yet to be announced, the princess reportedly hopes to attend the Remembrance Sunday at the Cenotaph.

However, she will not be accompanying her husband to the Earthshot Prize awards in Cape Town in November.