There are those who say that Kate Middleton has canceled all the commitments planned for 2024 and perhaps will never return to the role he had before the illness, those who claim that he feels better and the treatments are giving the desired results. Some even speculate that the princess could appear from the balcony of Buckingham Palace for the Trooping The Color on June 15th, but the Palace has nevertheless clarified that Kate will not be at the military parade on June 8th 2024. Many rumors, little confirmed news. Even the opinions of real experts diverge quite sharply, moving from pessimism to cautious optimism, although there is also no shortage of more neutral positions. In short, beyond the veil of discretion created around Kate, the deepest confusion reigns supreme.
Kate will not be at the Colonel’s Review
The Royal Palace confirmed that King Charles III will participate in Trooping The Colour, scheduled for June 15, 2024, but will not follow the ceremony on horseback, as per tradition, but rather remaining in a carriage. Almost absolute silence, however, regarding the possible presence of Kate Middleton. On May 30th Kensington Palace only announced that the princess will not be at the Colonel’s Review, the military parade that precedes Trooping The Color and will take place on June 8th. Kate, awarded the honorary title of colonel of the Irish Guards in 2022, is tasked with reviewing the army with William. This year, as reported by the Daily Mail, she will be replaced by Lieutenant General James Bucknall. News that leaves disappointed those who hoped to see her in public again, although it is not at all surprising, given the most recent rumors about the princess’s health leaked by the tabloids.
Incognita Trooping The Colour
As regards the June 15th ceremony, however, Kensington Palace has not yet confirmed or denied Kate’s participation. However, her absence at the Colonel’s Review does not bode well. “The Princess of Wales is considering making an appearance on the balcony of Buckingham Palace after the Trooping The Color ceremony if she feels well enough.”, wrote the Mirror, opening a very small window into this story full of unanswered questions. In truth, however, at the moment it doesn’t seem very likely that Kate will decide to appear in public on June 15, 2024. Not only will everything depend on her condition, but there is also the possibility that princess do not want to concentrate on yourself the attention intended for the King and such an important day for Great Britain.
When will we see Kate again?
The uncertainty about Kate’s possible presence at the Trooping The Colour it becomes even more profound if we think of what a Kensington Palace spokesperson reported on May 21st: “The princess is not expected to return to work until she has the all-clear from the medical team.” An update that is striking and could even frighten due to its vagueness. A little more precise, although contradictory and in any case not encouraging, are the opinions of some insiders. One told the Daily Beast: “…I was told that Kate’s diary for this year is empty. There is nothing planned. She may not appear in public for the rest of the year.” Another source, however, confided to Richard Eden of the Daily Mail: “We may not see Catherine again until the autumn and only if she has fully recovered.”
“It’s past the tipping point”
An insider, quoted by Us Weekly, expressed a decidedly trenchant opinion: “[Il team di Kate] is evaluating what she may face when she returns” to work, but “she may never return to the role people have seen her in before.” Yet a friend of Kate revealed to Vanity Fair USA: “[Kate] has passed the critical point” of chemotherapy. “It’s a great relief that he is tolerating the treatment and doing much better. It was a time of challenges and worries. Everyone rallied around her, William, her parents, her sister and brother.” This, however, does not mean that the princess is ready to resume official duties. “There is no timetable and there is certainly no rush. It will happen when Catherine feels ready and she gets the green light from the doctors. But she will return to work 100%, there’s no doubt about that.”another insider assured Vanity Fair USA.“Kate is recovering well. She can’t see many people, because she risks getting sick… but she’s back on her feet.”, said a third source cited by Us Weekly. Furthermore, the Daily Mail revealed on May 27th, the princess “She has been seen out and about with her family more in recent weeks.” Private outings of which, however, there are currently no photos or videos, a detail that raises many questions about the reliability of this indiscretion.
Kate ‘feels better’
Three times in the space of just over a month the Prince William reiterated that the princess “he’s better”: on 30 April 2024 at the inauguration of the new headquarters of the charity James’ Place in Newcastle, on 10 May 2024 during the visit to St. Mary’s Community Hospital in the Isles of Scilly and last 5 June in Portsmouth, during the ceremony for the eightieth anniversary of D-Day. According to some, William is just trying to hide a disturbing truth behind a few words, always the same, prepared in advance to keep people at a distance, limiting their interest. It’s a possibility, but not the only one. Who can assure us beyond a shadow of a doubt that William is lying? Nobody. Because no one can prove the theories relating to Kate’s health with facts.
“Artfully spread optimism”
All the unconfirmed rumors that overlap and come alongside the few facts we know of create an atmosphere full of tension and insecurity. The general impression is of a constant oscillation, if not a real bounce, between two extremities, two poles, one positive and the other negative. Even the interpretations of real experts, inevitably, are influenced by this continuous slippage. On the “Pomeriggio 5” programme, quoted by Il Messaggero, the journalist Antonio Caprarica commented: “This wave of optimism seems to be artfully spread by royal watchers very close to the royal family, who are interested in giving much more positive sensations than what, unfortunately, is the reality, then of course there are the rumors that describe an extremely alarming situation and serious. I would like to pay attention to something else.” Caprarica invited the public to calm and be cautious: “…We respect the confidentiality of this woman who is dramatically struggling with a…very serious illness. You’ll tell us when you’re better… The objective fact is that we won’t see you in public for months yet, this is news and not rumours”.
“An alarming situation”
In an interview granted to the weekly magazine “Oggi” Caprarica reiterated the idea that the tumor diagnosed in Kate would be more serious than what we were told: “From what I know, the situation is actually alarming. The disease, in reality, may have been identified at a slightly more advanced stage than has been suggested.” The silence of Kensington Palacethe absence of the princess from the public scene (underlined by her replacement at the parade on June 8), the lack of a certain date, or at least an approximate forecast for her return, could accentuate the propensity of a large part of the public and experts towards a more pessimistic view of the situation.
“We have to accept it”
Not knowing, not having certain data available is usually scary, because it exacerbates the feeling of the impossibility of controlling the situation. In this case, however, we must make peace with the fact that we have never had this control and never will have it. It’s a condition that Kate wants to keep to herself, face alone and at her own pace. We should, perhaps, use the lack of concrete information to suspend judgment or, at least, develop a more neutral one, like that of royal expert Robert Hardman. Regarding the Health of the princess the author, who last June 4th published his new book “Charles III, the New King. Confidential History of the New Court of England” (Rizzoli), declared in an interview with Vanity Fair Italia: “There is a lot of concern. Everyone wants him to recover, but no one really knows how he is, nor will we ever know for a matter of privacy.
Social media continues to produce their crazy narrative of the facts with out of control conspiracy theories but, at the moment, the only certain things we know about the Princess of Wales are what she herself declared in her last video message in March…We know that she is doing the treatment and is said to be improving. Catherine… she hoped to return to her normal life… but that didn’t happen. She could appear on the balcony of Buckingham Palace or in any shop… we will never know in advance and we have to accept it”.
