Palace Drops Biggest Clue Yet That Kate Middleton Won't Be At Trooping The Color 2024

Adoring fans of Catherine, Princess of Wales, who hoped to see her at Trooping the Color 2024 will have to wait a little bit longer, according to a statement made by Kensington Palace ahead of the June 15 event. Her presence, or absence, at the annual ceremony was debated for months after the U.K. Ministry of Defense announced the princess' upcoming attendance — then promptly canceled Kate Middleton's comeback, leaving fans more confused than ever. 

Of course, the assumption was not far-fetched. Kate is the Colonel of the Irish Guard, which is the British regiment trooping its colors during the 2024 ceremony. So, it would be reasonable to expect the princess to attend. However, as the Independent first reported in early March of that year, the Ministry of Defense was not entitled to confirm Kate's attendance at a public event. Only Kensington Palace has the authority to make such declarations.

At the time of this initial back and forth, Kate had made no public statements or appearances, causing the cancelation to stir up rampant speculation over her whereabouts. In late March 2024, Kate Middleton cleared up crucial details with her cancer announcement and explained that her seemingly mysterious absence was the result of her undergoing preventative chemotherapy treatment. According to the palace, her recovery process is still ongoing and prevents the princess from attending the June ceremony.

Kensington Palace has largely left the public in the dark about Kate Middleton's recovery, repeatedly saying they would only make an announcement when there were significant updates, forcing royal fans to read between the lines of palace happenings to deduce Kate's progress. Case in point, the BBC reported on May 30, 2024 that Kate's role as Inspecting Officer in the Trooping the Color ceremony will be fulfilled by military official and Colonel of the Coldstream Guards, Lieutenant General James Bucknall. Per tradition, the inspection duties will be performed during the Colonel's Review, a ceremony rehearsal held one week before the event.

Of course, many fans held out hope that even if Kate was unable to serve as Inspecting Officer, she would still attend the ceremony as a guest. But that, too, seems unlikely. One week before Bucknall's role in the ceremony was announced, a Kensington Palace spokesperson told the BBC, "The princess is not expected to return to work until it's cleared by her medical team."

Despite Kate's absence from the event, an anonymous source told Vanity Fair that the princess is improving. "[She] turned a corner. It has been a great relief that she is tolerating the medication and is actually doing a lot better. It has, of course, been a very challenging and worrying time. Everyone has rallied around her — William, her parents, and her sister and brother." However, another source cautioned, "There is no timeline, and there is certainly no hurry. It will be when Catherine feels ready."

Kate Middleton ended her first cancer announcement with a plea to the public for privacy for her, her husband, William, Prince of Wales, and their young children as she continued her recovery process in the comfort of her own home. For the most part, the message quelled some of the wackier conspiracy theories that popped up throughout the course of her prolonged absence. But that doesn't mean that everyone monitoring the situation is okay with Kensington Palace's lack of transparency about how the princess is doing.

In fact, some royal watchers have gone so far as to call Kate's Middleton's latest sighting "pathetic." On May 28, 2024, two days before the palace confirmed Kate would not be attending Trooping the Color, People reported that Kate was spotted spending time with her family and running errands. "48 hours ago we were told that Kate is so ill she cannot return to royal duties for a year," one social media user wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. "Today, she's been out and about with her family, yet not a soul got even a blurry photo/video. It's getting pathetic at this point."

Emotions have certainly run high as royal fans and critics alike try to work through the mystery of Kate's ongoing health concerns. However, one thing seems certain: we won't be receiving any new answers about her condition during the June 15 ceremony.