Princess Kate makes her first appearance since her cancer diagnosis

Britain held a birthday pageant for King Charles III on Saturday, a military parade that marked the Princess of Wales’ first appearance at a public event since her cancer diagnosis earlier this year.

The annual event was also a show of stability for the monarchy after a difficult few months in which the king and Kate, wife of heir to the throne Prince William, were sidelined by cancer treatment .

In a symbolic show of unity, Charles, Queen Camilla, William, Kate and their children were joined by other members of the royal family on a balcony at Buckingham Palace at the end of the King’s birthday parade . The family waved to the gathered crowd as they watched a military plane fly past to close ceremonies marking the monarch’s official birthday.

It was Kate’s first appearance at a public event since December. She revealed in March that she was undergoing chemotherapy for an unspecified form of cancer.

“I’m making good progress, but as anyone who goes through chemotherapy knows, there are good days and bad days,” Kate said in a statement released Friday, adding that she still has “a few months” of treatment left. .

Kate said she is “not out of the woods yet” and officials stress that Saturday’s engagement does not herald a full return to public life.

Huge crowds gather every June to watch the anniversary parade, also known as Trooping the Color, which begins with a procession involving horses, musicians and hundreds of soldiers in ceremonial uniform from the palace of Buckingham.

The 42-year-old princess traveled by horse-drawn carriage from the palace to the main avenue known as The Mall with her children George, 10, Charlotte, 9, and Louis, 6. Passers-by applauded when they spotted Kate, wearing a white dress by designer Jenny Packham and a wide-brimmed Philip Treacy hat.

She watched the ceremony with the children from the window of a building overlooking Horse Guards Parade, a parade ground in central London. Louis yawned widely at one point during the proceedings, but he mostly watched intently, even dancing to the beat of military music.

William, in military uniform, rode on horseback for the ceremony, during which troops parade before the king with their regimental flag, or “color.” Demonstrations of precision marching and martial music date back to the days when a regiment’s flag was a vital rallying point in the fog of battle.

Charles, who is also being treated for an undisclosed form of cancer, traveled in a carriage with Queen Camilla, rather than on horseback as he did last year. The king inspected the troops from a platform on the parade ground, saluting the passage of the elite regiments of the foot guards.

Five regiments take turns displaying their colors, and this year it was the turn of a company of the Irish Guards, which has Kate as honorary colonel. Troops in scarlet tunics and bearskin hats were led onto the parade ground by their mascot, an Irish wolfhound named Seamus.

Charles, 75, revealed his cancer in February and recently returned to public duties. He attended last week’s commemorations of the 80th anniversary of D-Day, the Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied Europe on June 6, 1944.

In one of the many quirks of British royal convention, Saturday is not the king’s real birthday, it is in November. Like his mother Queen Elizabeth II before him, Charles celebrates his official birthday on the second Saturday in June. The date was chosen because the weather is generally good, although Saturday’s morning sunshine gave way to a rainy and windy day in London.

The rain stopped for most of the ceremony, but began to fall as the massive troops escorted the royal carriages to Buckingham Palace, in front of a soggy but enthusiastic crowd.

Blue skies returned briefly as the family emerged onto the balcony to watch a flyby including the Royal Air Force’s aerobatic team, the Red Arrows, trailing plumes of red, white and blue steam.

Thousands of royal fans in raincoats and umbrellas cheered, while a handful of anti-monarchist protesters chanted “Not my king.”

Viewer Joseph Afrane, 60, said he was happy to see Kate return – and to get a “big wave” as she passed.

“It was fantastic when I heard it on the news yesterday,” he said. “I was like, ‘God, thank you for bringing Kate back,’ because she works so hard.”

Spectators who braved the unstable weather were treated to a spectacle of splendor and precision involving 1,400 soldiers, 250 military musicians and more than 200 horses. Equine participants included Trojan, Tennyson and Vanquish, three of the five military horses who sparked chaos in April when they bolted and fled through central London, crashing into vehicles and causing chaos at morning rush hour.

The Army says the other two horses are recovering well and are also expected to return to duty.