The Princess of Wales will attend both the Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph and the Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall tomorrow.
Buckingham Palace confirmed today that Kate will join King Charles III, her husband Prince William and other senior Royal Family members at the commemoration for the war dead on Sunday, and be present at tomorrow evening’s annual festival.
However, palace officials also said the Queen’s attendance at Remembrance events this weekend will be subject to medical advice nearer the time. Camilla, 77, is unwell with a chest infection and was forced to pull out of engagements earlier this week.
Kate is making a gradual return to public duties after completing a course of cancer treatment, with her last high-profile appearance at Trooping the Colour in June.
She has stayed home with children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis this week while William was in Cape Town for his Earthshot Prize awards.
But Kate’s double appearance this weekend will be the first time she has carried out two consecutive days of public official engagements since the start of the year.
It comes after William revealed how 2024 has been ‘brutal’ and ‘probably the hardest year in my life’ with both Kate and his father the King diagnosed with cancer.
Kate attended the Remembrance Sunday ceremony at the Cenotaph on November 12, 2023
William and Kate at the Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall on November 11, 2023
The prince spoke candidly about the Royal Family’s major health scares, saying of this year: ‘Honestly, it’s been dreadful. It’s probably been the hardest year in my life.
‘So, trying to get through everything else and keep everything on track has been really difficult. But I’m so proud of my wife, I’m proud of my father, for handling the things that they have done.
‘But from a personal family point of view, it’s been, yeah, it’s been brutal.’
Earlier this week, William also said of Kate during an interview before his awards on Wednesday evening: ‘She’s doing really well thanks. And hopefully she is watching tonight.
‘So cheering me on. She’s been amazing this whole year. I know she will be really keen to see tonight be a success.’
Kate travelled to Merseyside four weeks ago with William to meet privately with bereaved families of the Southport stabbing victims before greeting emergency responders in front of the cameras.
The National Service of Remembrance at the Cenotaph in London on November 12, 2023
The Royal Navy prepare for Sunday at HMS Excellent training base in Hampshire on Tuesday
That visit on October 10 was her first joint public appearance alongside William since her cancer treatment ended, marking a major milestone in her gradual journey back to public duties.
Kate has also spoken with aides about staging her annual Christmas carol service in December, holding a meeting with her team at Windsor Castle on September 24.
She delivered a bombshell video message in March revealing she was undergoing chemotherapy after post-operative tests following major abdominal surgery showed she had cancer.
Well-wishes flooded in from around the world and the King – who has also had treatment for cancer following his own diagnosis – was said to be ‘so proud’ of his ‘beloved daughter-in-law’ for her courage in speaking out.
In June, Kate made a welcome brief return to the royal frontline at Trooping the Colour, after saying in an update that she has ‘good days and bad days’, but was ‘not out of the woods yet’.
OCTOBER 10: The Princess of Wales was most recently seen during a visit to Southport
SEPTEMBER 9: The Prince and Princess of Wales in Norfolk with their children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis in a handout still issued by Kensington Palace
Kate also presented the men’s trophy on a day out to Wimbledon with Princess Charlotte in July, which saw her given a standing ovation from the crowd.
The Princess announced she had finished her chemotherapy course in a heartfelt video in September, in which she spoke about her experience while footage played of the Waleses and their children enjoying time together outdoors.
She said she was entering ‘this new phase of recovery with a renewed sense of hope and appreciation of life’.
‘The last nine months have been incredibly tough for us as a family,’ she said.
The Princess added: ‘Although I have finished chemotherapy, my path to healing and full recovery is long.’
JULY 14: The Princess of Wales and Princess Charlotte in the royal box at Wimbledon
Then on September 17, Kate was listed in the official record of royal events for the first time since her cancer treatment ended.
She featured in the Court Circular after holding a meeting at Windsor Castle about an issue that aides in the past have described as her life’s work – the early years development of children.
Kate will be joined at tomorrow’s annual Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance by the King, who became patron of the charity earlier this year.
Also in attendance will be her husband William, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, Princess Royal Anne and her husband Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and the Duke of Kent.
On Sunday, Charles – who recently completed his first long haul overseas tour since his own cancer diagnosis – will lead the same Royal Family members at the annual Remembrance Day Service at the Cenotaph.
JUNE 15: William and Kate with George, Louis and Charlotte at Trooping the Colour in London
He will lay a wreath of poppies at the base of the memorial, leading the nation in tribute to its fallen servicemen and women.
The design pays tribute to the wreath of Charles’s grandfather King George VI and his mother Queen Elizabeth II.
The wreath’s poppies are mounted on an arrangement of black leaves, which is traditional for the Sovereign, and its ribbon bears the King’s racing colours; scarlet, purple and gold.
The royal racing colours were also incorporated into the wreaths of King George V, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II.
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The palace said Camilla’s wreath will be laid on her behalf by an equerry from the Royal Household. It will also bear her racing colours – brown, red and yellow – inherited from her grandfather, and echoes the wreath of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.
MARCH 23: The Princess of Wales reveals she has cancer in a bombshell video message
Both Charles and Camilla’s wreaths have been produced by the Poppy Factory.
William will lay the wreath previously laid by Charles as the former Prince of Wales, featuring The Prince of Wales feathers. The wreath bears a new ribbon in Welsh red.
Then on Monday, the Duchess of Edinburgh will attend an Armistice Service at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire.
Following the service, Sophie will place a wreath at the Memorial and will be invited to read an Armistice Day service reading. The day will then conclude with a tour of the Arboretum.
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