Prince William stepped out solo after Princess Kate Middleton joined him and the royal family at this year’s Trooping the Colour festivities.
William, 41, attended the Order of the Garter ceremony at Windsor Castle on Monday, June 17, alongside other senior royals including King Charles III, Queen Camilla, Princess Anne and Prince Edward. The annual procession and service is held in celebration of the most senior members of Great Britain’s Order of Chivalry members, per the royal family’s website.
William and his relatives donned ceremonial outfits consisting of a blue velvet capes and black-and-white plumed hats. Also sporting the getup were Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber, Air Chief Marshal Lord Peach and the Right Honorable Lord Kakkar, who were all named Knight Companions of the Most Noble Order of the Companion.
The ceremony took place two days after another annual royal tradition, Trooping the Colour, which is held in honor of the monarch’s birthday. William rode behind his father on horseback during the day’s military parade on Saturday, June 15, alongside Anne, 73, and Edward, 60.
Charles, 75, sat in a carriage with Camilla, 76, rather than ride a horse due to his health. (Charles has continued to undergo cancer treatments since being diagnosed with an unspecified form of cancer following a January surgery for prostate enlargement.)
Also seated in a carriage was Kate, 42, who is battling cancer as well. The event marked her first public appearance since December 2023. The Princess of Wales revealed in March that doctors discovered she had cancer following a January abdominal procedure. She has since been out of the public eye to undergo preventative chemotherapy.
Prince William ISABEL INFANTES/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Kate was all smiles riding in a carriage with her and William’s three children — Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 9, and Prince Louis, 6 — as well as while standing on the Buckingham Palace balcony with her husband and fellow royals.
While waiting on the balcony to watch the Royal Air Force’s palace fly-over, Kate was seen leaning to her side to chat with Charles. Several royals filled in for the pair as they took a break from appearances to recover earlier this year, including William, Camilla, Anne and more. Charles resumed his royal work in March and made his return to public-facing duties in April.
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Kate revealed she would be attending Trooping the Colour while giving fans an update on her health in a Friday, June 14, statement. “I am making good progress, but as anyone going through chemotherapy will know, there are good days and bad days,” she wrote via social media alongside a new photo of her posing underneath a tree. “On those bad days you feel weak, tired and you have to give in to your body resting. But on the good days, when you feel stronger, you want to make the most of feeling well.”
She continued: “My treatment is ongoing and will be for a few more months. On the days I feel well enough, it is a joy to engage with school life, spend personal time on the things that give me energy and positivity, as well as starting to do a little work from home. … I am learning how to be patient, especially with uncertainty. Taking each day as it comes, listening to my body, and allowing myself to take this much needed time to heal.”
