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

The Princess of Wales today announced that she will attend Trooping the Color tomorrow to support King Charles at one of the most important events in the royal calendar.

Kate, 42, has been out of the public eye for months after announcing she had been diagnosed with an unknown form of cancer and has since undergone preventative chemotherapy.

The princess missed the Colonel’s Review last Saturday, the traditional rehearsal for Trooping the Colour, and questions were raised about whether she would attend the annual event.

But today it was announced that the mother will be at her husband’s side tomorrow, along with their three children, Prince Louis, Prince George and Princess Charlotte.

It will be a huge boost for King Charles – who has also partially resumed his royal duties while undergoing chemotherapy for cancer – to have his ‘beloved daughter-in-law’ present.

The king attended garden parties and visited charities after making encouraging progress in his treatment.

While it is clear that Kate’s presence will not mean a return to royal duties tomorrow, she is undoubtedly encouraged by her father-in-law’s example of successfully managing his public engagements with ongoing treatment.

In her statement today, she said she plans to “work from home a little” over the summer and hopes to “participate in a few public engagements this summer.”

Following Kate’s cancer announcement, King Charles said he was “so proud of Catherine for her bravery” as he spoke about her journey with treatment.

“His Majesty is ‘so proud of Catherine for her courage to speak as she did,’” Buckingham Palace said in March.

The pair also had a private lunch together the day before Kate bravely revealed her cancer diagnosis to the world, leaving the king feeling “very emotional.”

The close relationship with Kate was already evident when Charles and Camilla visited Kate at the London Clinic earlier this year while she was recovering from abdominal surgery.

Although the monarch himself was treated in the same hospital, it was still an unusual break with royal tradition and, for example, his late mother did not typically visit the bedside of her husband, Prince Philip, and vice versa.

It was a testament to how close the king is to his daughter-in-law, with whom he bonds over their shared love of art.

The king reportedly thinks she is doing a “great” job raising George, Charlotte and Louis, and can now spend more time with his son’s family now that they live just a few minutes’ drive from Windsor Castle.

Indeed, the King gave 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, accompanied by Queen Camilla, recalled Prince William and Kate’s engagement in Kenya in 2010.

He said: ‘It was here, within sight of Mount Kenya, that my son, the Prince of Wales, proposed to his wife, now my beloved daughter-in-law.’

It will be a big boost 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 percent in favor of the Princess of Wales, followed by her husband, Prince William.

She is also one of the hardest working senior royals having completed 128 engagements as of 2023.

In recent years, the balcony of Buckingham Palace has looked increasingly barren as King Charles favors a ‘downsized’ monarchy.

In the late queen’s time, 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 the number was reduced 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 Color as the Duchess of Cambridge, shortly after her wedding to Prince William, and she has been a constant presence at the event since.

The princess will ride in a carriage with her children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, before appearing on the balcony of Buckingham Palace with the rest of the royal family.

In her message, the princess says she has been ‘overwhelmed’ by all the sweet messages of support and encouragement over the past few months.

“It really has made a world of difference to William and I and helped us both through the tougher times,” she wrote.

In Kate’s post 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 said: ‘On those bad days you feel weak, tired and have to give in to resting your body. But on the good days, when you feel stronger, you want to make the most of your good feelings.

‘My treatment is still ongoing and will last a few more months.

‘On the days when I feel well enough, it’s a pleasure to get involved with school life, spend personal time on the things that give me energy and positivity, and also do some work from home.

‘I’m looking forward to attending the King’s Birthday Parade with my family this weekend and hope to take part in some public performances this summer, but I also know I’m not out of the woods yet.

‘I’m learning to be patient, especially when it comes to uncertainty. Taking each day as it comes, listening to my body and allowing myself to take some much needed time to heal.

“Thank you so much for your continued understanding, and to all of you who so courageously shared your stories with me.”

To mark the news that Kate will be attending, Kensington Palace has also released a stunning new portrait of the princess, taken in Windsor this week by Matt Porteous, which shows her looking good and in a thoughtful mood.