King Charles III was very happy not to be the most celebrated in his birthday ceremony yesterday: the eyes of the world were on Princess Catherine of Wales, making her first public appearance for more than six months. She suffers from cancer and is undergoing cycles of chemotherapy, but she felt strong enough to participate in the Trooping the Colour, the military parade with which, on the second Saturday in June, the birthday of sovereign.
June was chosen for its sunny days, but the climate has changed and yesterday it was pouring rain on the Mall and on Horse Guards Parade, the esplanade where the ceremony takes place. Kate, visibly slimmer, arrived by car at Buckingham Palace, accompanied by William and her children George, 10, Charlotte, 9, and Louis, 6. William, in military uniform, then mounted a horse, and his family he continued along the Mall in a carriage. Never have so many photos of Kate been taken in a single day. When she smiled she was the same as always, when she didn’t, a dark shadow made her face almost unrecognizable. But the crowd waiting for her greeted her with a demonstration of affection never paid in the past to a royal, if not to Queen Elizabeth.
Trooping the colour, from Kate Middleton’s return to King Charles’ affectionate gesture (and the Sussexes’ rudeness): what happened
THE SIMILARITY
Many are starting to notice that Kate resembles her: in these months of suffering she has shown great stoicism, without ever giving in to self-pity. He fights for his life, but he also takes care of his children, his home, his family. You saw it yesterday in the deluge of videos and images that the British media released. The balcony of the office of the Duke of Wellington, the man who defeated Napoleon at Waterloo, was reserved for Kate and her children. The Daily Mirror asked a lip reader to find out what the Princess and her children were saying to each other as the regiments paraded past them. “Stand there,” Kate says. And then to Charlotte: “Keep smiling.” Louis, unmanageable as always, grabs the tie rods of the shutters: «Can I play with these beads?», «No – his mother replies -. I need you to focus on the save.” Charlotte tries to help her: «Louis, you have to stop, watch the parade». And the pestiferous and very nice little brother: “No, I won’t do it.” Scenes of family life that are even touching, in the current circumstances. Kate wore a white outfit with navy-inspired black details designed by Jenny Packham with a Philip Treacy hat, and she wore the Irish Guards pin, because she is a colonel of the regiment. She held up her umbrella alone while walking on the dirt of the Horse Guards, to return to her carriage which took her and her children back to Buckingham Palace. More photos, more smiles and again the darkness that returned every now and then for a few moments on everyone’s faces.
ON THE SECOND FLOOR
Carlo, also suffering from cancer, was a secondary protagonist of his birthday. He reviewed the troops in a carriage with Camilla, while last year he did it on horseback. Upon arrival, the Daily Mirror assures, he said to the Queen: “I don’t know why, but she’s making me want to cry.” In the stands there were 8000 brides, girlfriends and parents of the soldiers who marched. For the first time in 100 years, the King allowed soldiers to have beards. On the balcony of Buckingham Palace, Charles wanted Kate at his side, instead of his son William. It was a gesture of great affection. While the crowd applauded in the rain, they exchanged a few words. Kate at a certain point turned towards William and they looked at each other smiling in a way that she doesn’t need lip reading and which puts to rest all the silly speculations about the crisis in their marriage: they have never been so close. As she herself wrote in Friday’s letter, Kate is not out of danger and she will still have to fight for many months. But it was nice to see her again, and the Royal Family had one of their best days yesterday, full of courage and hope.
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