Kate Middleton Might Skip Trooping The Colour For The First Time While Recovering From Cancer, Royal Expert Says
Kate Middleton has been attending the annual Trooping the Colour since she married Prince William, but she might skip the event this year, according to a royal expert.
The Princess of Wales announced in March that she was diagnosed with cancer following her abdominal surgery in January. She's been undergoing treatment and might not attend the monarch's annual birthday celebration in June. Royal expert and historian Rafe Heydel-Mankoo said it would be "unlikely" for Middleton to join the royal family on the balcony for Trooping the Colour this year.
"Last year she was there, resplendent in a green dress, and we're waiting to see whether she will also be attending this time or not," Heydel-Mankoo said on GB News.
"But there's been no mention of her attending the D-Day ceremonies, although the Prince of Wales will be attending the Canadian beach Juno, and also at the Omaha Beach, where the international heads of state, but no word of the Princess of Wales attending that. So I think it's rather unlikely we'll be seeing her at Trooping the Colour."
In March, weeks before Middleton publicized her cancer diagnosis, her name from the Trooping the Colour website was quietly removed. The Duchess of Cambridge was previously listed for an engagement on June 8. She was set to lead the annual review of soldiers at the Horse Guards Parade in London. However, her office at Kensington Palace said they were not consulted about her appearance, People reported.
Christopher Andersen, a journalist and royal commentator, also previously weighed in on Middleton's attendance at next month's Trooping the Colour. The author of "Brothers and Wives: Inside the Private Lives of William, Kate, Harry, and Meghan" was hoping to see the royal mother of three on the balcony but clarified that he wasn't really sure whether Middleton would be there.
"This is going to be interesting, isn't it?" Anderson told Us Weekly on May 9. "She may appear on the balcony; that's not too much of a strain on her, I wouldn't think. But [if] she doesn't, it's just going to look sad and odd and send the message [that] things are perhaps a little worse than we thought, and so we'll have to wait and see."
Middleton has been a constant presence at Trooping the Colour, except in 2020 and 2021. Queen Elizabeth canceled the event in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but a ceremonial tribute was performed at Windsor by Welsh Guardsman and a band of the Household Division, per the BBC.
In 2021, the late monarch had a scaled-back celebration on the grounds of Windsor Castle. There was no balcony appearance by the royal family. Instead, the Queen was joined by her cousin, the Duke of Kent, for what was dubbed as a "mini" Trooping the Colour.
The royal family returned to celebrate Trooping the Colour in June 2022. The event also marked the late Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee celebration. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were present but noticeably missing on the balcony appearance because only royals "undertaking official public duties" joined the queen, per Today.
