Princess Kate makes her first public appearance amid cancer treatment : NPR

Catherine, Princess of Wales, made her first public appearance Saturday morning since announcing her cancer diagnosis about three months ago.

The former Kate Middleton, 42, returned to public view while attending the annual Trooping the Colour, a parade to mark the birthday of King Charles III.

On the way to the event, England’s future queen, dressed in white, smiled and waved to spectators from her carriage. Her three children sat with her, while Prince William rode on horseback to the parade. Later in the day, Kate stood beside the royal family on the balcony of Buckingham Palace to watch a Royal Air Force fly over.

Kate’s appearance was not a complete surprise. On Friday evening, she released a statement, announcing her plans to attend the celebration, adding that she had a few more months left in her chemotherapy treatment and she was making “good progress.”

“I’m looking forward to attending The King’s Birthday Parade this weekend with my family and hope to join a few public engagements over the summer, but equally knowing I am not out of the woods yet,” she wrote on Instagram.

Kate publicly shared that she was in the early stages of chemotherapy in late March after virtually disappearing from public view in late December. At the time, Kensington Palace said Kate’s absence from public engagements was due to a planned abdominal surgery. At the time, the palace said the treatment was not for cancer.

A few weeks before the princess announced her diagnosis, the palace disclosed that Charles, 75, also began undergoing cancer treatments. The palace has not shared what type of cancers either Charles or Kate have.