Kate Middleton makes public return at King Charles’ birthday parade after cancer update

LONDON — It’s King Charles III’s official birthday, but all eyes are on Kate, the Princess of Wales.

Kate, 42, made her return to the public eye Saturday as part of the Trooping the Colour ceremony, her first official appearance since she revealed her cancer diagnosis earlier this year.

On a drizzling Saturday morning in London, she was seen smiling in a horse-drawn carriage with her three children as the procession made its way from Buckingham Palace to Horse Guards Parade. Prince Louis, 6, was captured waving to the crowds from the carriage window.

The annual military ceremony celebrates the British monarch’s official birthday, with Charles also in attendance after his cancer diagnosis.

A convoy of royal carriages left the palace with the King and Queen Camilla escorted by the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment, before Charles carried out the ceremonial review of the guardsmen and officers from his carriage.

Charles then received a royal salute from service members outside Horse Guards Parade as the British national anthem blared over speakers. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his wife, Akshata Murty, were among the crowds gathered to watch.

Charles inspected the troops on horseback at his first official birthday parade last year, reviving a tradition that his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, gave up in 1986 when she was 60.

This year, William was on horseback, alongside his uncle Prince Edward, and aunt, Princess Anne.

Tennyson, Vanquish and Trojan, three of the five elite military horses that broke lose in April and galloped riderless through miles of downtown London, were also part of Saturday’s parade after they were nurtured back to good health. The other two, Quaker and Vida, are continuing their recovery.

In a statement on Friday, Kate shared an update on her cancer treatment, writing that she was “not out of the woods yet” and that she had “good days and bad days.” She said she was “making good progress,” but that her treatment would continue for a few more months.

Her attendance at Saturday’s parade was seen as a significant positive step after a monthslong absence that fueled widespread speculation.

Kate and Prince William’s children, George, 10, Charlotte, 8, and Louis, 5, have also largely been out of the public eye in recent months. They joined her at Saturday’s event, arriving with her in a carriage down the Mall before watching alongside her on the Horse Guards Parade grounds and then making a royal balcony appearance.

The family traditionally gathers on the balcony at the end of each year’s event to watch a flyover by the Royal Air Force.

Also known as the King’s Birthday Parade, the ceremony has been an annual event since 1760. It is the British military’s annual tribute to the monarch and marks their official birthday.

Charles’ actual birthday is Nov. 14.

The traditional show of military pomp and pageantry will feature soldiers marching in scarlet coats and bearskin fur hats accompanied by music played by military bands.

Among the 242 horses due to take part in this year’s event will be three members of the Household Cavalry that were injured after being spooked by noise in London earlier this year.

Charles, who himself was diagnosed with cancer in February, has also been undergoing treatment. Doctors discovered the disease after he was hospitalized with an enlarged prostate, although the palace has said that he does not have prostate cancer.

Both Charles and Kate have declined to specify what type of cancer they have or details about their prognoses.

The 75-year-old monarch has attended several engagements since he resumed public duties last month, including D-Day memorial services in France.