Update on Kate Middleton as first official engagement since surgery is announced

A statement on the official Household Division website reads: “Trooping the Colour reviewed by Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales is identical to Trooping the Colour reviewed by His Majesty The King, with the exception that some additional mounted officers ride when His Majesty The King is present.

“Taking part will be over 1400 soldiers of the Household Division and The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery, including 400 musicians from the Massed Bands, all of whom will parade on Horse Guards for the second of two formal Reviews.”

CAHAL PECH, BELIZE – MARCH 21: Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge attends a special reception hosted by the Governor General of Belize in celebration of Her Majesty The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee on March 21, 2022 in Cahal Pech, Belize. The event was held at the Mayan ruins at Cahal Pech, and celebrated the very best of Belizean culture. (Photo by Jane Barlow – Pool/Getty Images)

Having a fixed date upon which Kate is scheduled to return to royal action could go some way to allaying the concerns of those who have taken the general lack of information offered since the future Queen’s surgery for a bad omen.

Speculation has been rife in recent weeks as to the possibility that Kate’s condition is in fact worse than the Palace have let on. The Palace themselves were forced to issue a statement doubling down on previous claims that all is as it should be regarding Kate’s recovery, reassuring folk that she was “doing well”.

Even so, the general lack of information available to the public has created a vacuum in which so often conjecture can spread like wildfire.

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – MAY 04: (EMBARGOED FOR PUBLICATION IN UK NEWSPAPERS UNTIL 24 HOURS AFTER CREATE DATE AND TIME) Catherine, Princess of Wales arrives for visit to the Dog & Duck pub in Soho to hear how it’s preparing for the Coronation Weekend on May 4, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)

Hardly helping matters is the fact that the Princess of Wales had not been seen in person or in photo since Christmas. That was until yesterday, when a snap of Kate was taken as she sat in a car with her mother, Carol Middleton, outside of Windsor Castle.

The image marked the first time Kate had been seen in public in 70 days. Cue a fresh frenzy of speculation, in spite of the fact that the Royal Family have tried to reassure royal fans over the past week that the Princess is simply recovering on her own terms, away from the flashing of cameras.