Kate, the Princess of Wales will review Trooping the Colour in June, ahead of the main parade marking the King's official birthday. Getty Images
Kate, the Princess of Wales will review Trooping the Colour in June, ahead of the main parade marking the King's official birthday. Getty Images

Princess of Wales will return to duty to review Trooping the Colour in June



Kate, The Princess of Wales, will carry out her first major engagement since her operation when she reviews Trooping the Colour, five months after she was forced to step back following abdominal surgery.

The British Army's official website confirmed that the royal would review troops on June 8, ahead of the official parade in central London a week later.

It also names King Charles III as attending the main Trooping ceremony – also known as the Birthday Parade because it marks the sovereign’s official birthday.

It appears the Ministry of Defence hopes Kate will be well enough to attend one of the key ceremonial events in the armed forces’ year.

But only Kensington Palace, Kate’s official office, can announce her attendance at a royal event and confirmation is not expected until nearer the time.

The Princess of Wales was admitted to the London Clinic – the private hospital where King Charles underwent treatment for an enlarged prostate – for a planned operation on January 16, and left on January 29.

On Monday, it was revealed that she had been seen in public for the first time since the surgery.

According to US news website TMZ, the Princess was pictured near Windsor Castle in the passenger seat of a car.

She was wearing dark sunglasses in a black Audi, which was being driven by her mother, Carole Middleton.

King Charles, 75, had visited his daughter-in-law’s bedside after being admitted to hospital himself on January 26. She was also visited by her husband, the Prince of Wales.

First Trooping the Colour of King Charles III – in pictures

Britain's King Charles, Queen Camilla, Prince William, Catherine, Princess of Wales, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis and Anne, Princess Royal appear on the balcony of Buckingham Palace as part of Trooping the Colour parade to honour Britain's King Charles on his official birthday in London, Britain. Reuters

After she left the clinic, she returned to Adelaide Cottage in Windsor to be reunited with her three children, Kensington Palace said.

Details of the princess’s condition have not been revealed but the palace has said it is not cancer-related and that she wished her personal medical information to remain private.

The future queen, 42, was last pictured in public, on a Christmas Day walk in Sandringham, Norfolk.

A week after she left hospital, King Charles announced he had been diagnosed with cancer and was receiving treatment.

Prince William, 41, temporarily stepped back from his royal role to juggle caring for the Princess and their children.

He returned to public engagements in early February.

Kate’s parents and siblings, Pippa Matthews and James Middleton, were expected to be helping out the Waleses.

Kate, Princess of Wales’s red carpet style – in pictures

The Princess of Wales wears an altered Alexander McQueen dress to attend the 2023 Bafta Awards in London on February 19. AFP
Updated: March 05, 2024, 1:50 PM