Catherine, Princess of Wales, made her first public appearance since her cancer diagnosis on Saturday, smiling as she took her three children in a horse-drawn carriage during a procession to celebrate her father-in-law’s birthday.
Crowds gathered in central London to watch the princess and her family take part in an event filled with military tradition, music and pageantry, with the event only slightly dampened by a light rain that turned into a downpour at the end of the ceremony.
Her appearance was welcomed as her health improved and was an important moment for the British royal family.
However, when it was announced later on Friday that she was well enough to attend Saturday’s event, the princess made it clear she still had a long road to recovery.
“I’m making good progress, but as anyone who’s gone through chemotherapy knows, there are good days and bad days,” Catherine, 42, said in a statement released to news outlets. “And on those bad days, You will feel weak, tired and you have to let your body rest,” she added. “But on the good days, when you’re feeling stronger, you want to take advantage of the good feelings.”
Catherine and her three children – Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis – watched the parade in the state car. She occasionally waved during the brief carriage ride and then watched the ceremony from her vantage point indoors. Later, the crowd erupted in cheers as she appeared on the balcony of Buckingham Palace with her children and other members of the royal family to watch the Royal Air Force flyover.
Earlier, her husband, William, Prince of Wales, Colonel of the Welsh Guards, was seen on horseback wearing the dress of the Welsh Guards. The Princess, a Colonel of the Irish Guards who plays a prominent role in the parade, wore a white dress with black trim by Jenny Packham, a Philip Treacy hat and an Irish Guards pin.
Catherine was hospitalized for abdominal surgery in January and did not appear at this year’s official event until Saturday. In March, she revealed publicly that she was undergoing preventive chemotherapy.
In another sign of her progress, her office said she has begun working from home occasionally and meeting with her official team when she feels able. The princess also said in the statement that she hoped to attend some public events over the summer, while adding that she was “not out of the woods yet”.
Evidence of her recovery will be particularly welcomed by the British royal family, given that her health problems mirror those of King Charles, who underwent cancer treatment in January. He has begun to return to public life, attending a ceremony in France last week to mark the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings that heralded the end of World War II.
On Saturday, Prince Charles, who celebrated his 75th birthday in November, rode in a carriage instead of on horseback, as is typical in the procession known as Trooping the Color.
The event, which has been the official celebration of the monarch’s birthday for more than 260 years, features a parade that starts at Buckingham Palace and then along a flag-bedecked boulevard to Horse Guards Parade Ground, the home of the British Royal Horse Guards parade ground.
Arriving at Horse Guards Parade, the King inspected a guard of honor wearing red tunics and bearskin hats. Spectators watching the intricate military ceremony included Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty.
The celebration also included a 41-gun salute at Green Park.
The parade included about 1,400 soldiers, 400 musicians and 200 horses, including three from the Household Cavalry who escaped and were injured during a rehearsal in April.
