Why Kate Middleton should not rush return as she is set to miss Trooping the Colour, Royal Ascot and Wimbledon

Without question, she is the royal family’s greatest asset, and I am sure the whole nation is hoping she can return to public duties as soon as possible. There was speculation that she might appear on the balcony at Trooping the Colour, but unfortunately, this is looking highly unlikely.

Although I of course would love for the Palace to announce that the Princess of Wales’s return date will be soon, I believe that she should be given the appropriate time away from the public eye to focus on her health as she undergoes preventive chemotherapy after revealing her cancer diagnosis in March. 

After the Princess of Wales underwent abdominal surgery in January of this year a spokesman said: "Based on the current medical advice, she is unlikely to return to public duties until after Easter.” Last month, a senior royal aide said that Catherine, Princess of Wales “will return to work when she has had the green light from doctors,” but gave no indication of when this ‘green light’ might be given.

This month, the Princess of Wales wrote a letter to the Irish Guards to say that she would not be able to attend the Colonel’s Review and said: “I am very sorry that I’m unable to take the salute at this year’s Colonel’s Review. Please pass my apologies to the whole Regiment, however I do hope that I am able to represent you all once again very soon.”

Trooping the Colour takes place this weekend on Saturday 15 June and it is not yet known whether Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis will be joining their father, Prince William, and grandfather, King Charles. Following Trooping the Colour, Royal Ascot begins on Tuesday 18 June, and the Princess of Wales is set to miss that too.

Wimbledon 2024 is fast approaching and the tournament starts on 1 July, and as a keen tennis fan and patron of the All England Tennis Club, the Princess of Wales is a familiar sight there over the years. As much as I am sure she would love to attend this year, I am sure she will only go if she is given the ‘green light;’ by her medical team.

The Daily Express reported that “The Chair of the All England Club has now responded to those questions, (these questions were over whether the Princess of Wales would attend Wimbledon and present the trophy as usual) explaining why they would not speculate about her attendance. "Our priority is clearly that our Patron has the time to recover and we’re certainly not going to add any additional pressure on her recovery by speculating on her attendance at this year’s Championships," Deborah Jevans said at a media briefing on Thursday.”

Although some may think the Princess of Wales could ease back into royal duties by appearing on the balcony at Trooping of the Colour and sitting at the royal box at Wimbledon, I couldn’t disagree more. When you are one of the world’s most photographed women and have been recovering from cancer and the gruelling side effects, why would she want the whole world scrutinising her appearance? 

In May, sources close to Catherine, Princess of Wales told Vanity Fair that "the royal who is going through a course of preventive chemotherapy has ‘turned a corner’ with a treatment in recent weeks and is feeling a lot better.” The article went on to say that “It has been a great relief that she is tolerating the medication and actually doing a lot better,” says a family friend. “It has, of course, been a very challenging and worrying time. Everyone has rallied around her-William, her parents, and her sister and brother.”

I am hoping that these sources are correct and that the Princess of Wales has ‘turned a corner’ but I still don’t want to see her back on royal duties until she is 100% better.