LONDON—The royal family’s goal was clear: present the had to concede he looked “a little drained”) shepherding his family to a brighter future.
But make no mistake, today was really about Kate, who, against all the odds, pulled off a glitter-canon of a comeback of such stunning, last minute narrative perfection that were it a storyline in a soap opera, it would risk being rejected as implausible.
Catherine, Princess of Wales, arrives to Horse Guards Parade for the King’s Birthday Parade “Trooping the Colour” in London on June 15, 2024.
Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images
Kate’s attendance had, reportedly, been the subject of top secret planning for several weeks, but was only finally confirmed at 6 p.m. last night after a week of furious speculation when Kate issued an extraordinary statement quite unlike any statement that any royal has ever issued, in which she shared her joy at being able to attend Trooping (and to start working from home) but also went into great detail about how having chemotherapy has made her feel; the exhaustion, the “bad days,” the “uncertainty.”.
But one phrase Kate used struck a decidedly cautious and sombre note: Kate said she was “not out of the woods yet.”
It was a frank admission of the ongoing seriousness of her condition. In briefings, the palace has emphasized to journalists over and over again that Kate’s attendance at Trooping the Color should not be confused with the assumption she is now on a glide path back to public life.
Prince William, Prince of Wales and Catherine, Princess of Wales on the balcony during Trooping the Colour at Buckingham Palace on June 15, 2024 in London, England.
Chris Jackson/Getty Images
And herein lies the fly in the ointment. Having triumphantly proved that Kate is well enough to turn out for hours on end at a ceremonial event, it’s somewhat tricky for the palace to also say she isn’t, that she won’t, for example, attend the Garter Parade or Royal Ascot next week.
Cancer sufferers and their families, of course, will understand. This is the reality of cancer treatment; those “good days” Kate referred to in her statement usually come to patients near the end of each cycle of chemo.
But the genie is out of the bottle. Expectations to see Kate back in action will now, unavoidably, build.
An awful lot depends, therefore, on exactly what Kate meant by her careful and cautious phrasing when she said, in that unprecedented statement, “I am not out of the woods yet. I am learning how to be patient, especially with uncertainty.”
