Kate Middleton 'chuffed' at imminent royal return after Prince William's sweet praise
The Princess of Wales delighted royal fans with the announcement that she will join the rest of the Royal Family to attend both the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall on Saturday evening and the Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph in Whitehall on Sunday morning.
Although it will not mark a permanent return to duties following a difficult year which has seen the princess undergo planned abdominal surgery and be diagnosed with cancer, leading royal expert Jennie Bond has commended the decision in an exclusive chat with OK! and referred to how Kate will be feeling following Prince William's heartfelt praise of how she has dealt with the family's "brutal" year.
The former BBC royal correspondent told us: "It’s wonderful to have the Princess of Wales back and feeling well enough to attend both events. She must feel pretty chuffed that William made such a public tribute to her in South Africa.
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"To hear your husband say that you have been 'amazing' during such an incredibly difficult year must mean in the world. Knowing that he is so proud of her will probably make her all the more determined to get fighting fit again and back to normal working when she feels strong enough."
In a rare move, William gave a searingly honest and unprecedented interview to UK journalists in Cape Town on his “brutal” year which saw the King and the Princess of Wales diagnosed with cancer.
Opening up, he said: “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 brutal.”
His family were at the centre of his thoughts as he attended events linked to the fourth Earthshot Prize Awards earlier this week as he also showed off the sweet ‘Papa’ bracelet he was given by his daughter, Princess Charlotte.
On this move, Jennie told OK!: “He was pointedly wearing the bracelet that Charlotte made for him, inscribed with the word ‘Papa’. It’s a very lovely touch from a dad who has spent so much of this year putting his family first – in my view, entirely rightly.
"Like many of us, William is juggling a lot of balls: husband, dad, protector when times are tough as they have been this year, caring son and future King – not to mention his official duties and his various campaigns. There have been times this year when he has looked incredibly strained. So it was good to see him throwing himself into a trip to South Africa with such enthusiasm.”
And while the Princess of Wales is making a spectacular return to attend both the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance on Saturday evening and the Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph in Whitehall on Sunday, Queen Camilla has had to pull out of her appearances owing to a chest infection.
A Buckingham Palace spokesman said. "Following doctors’ guidance to ensure a full recovery from a seasonal chest infection, and to protect others from any potential risk, Her Majesty will not attend this weekend’s Remembrance events. While this is a source of great disappointment to The Queen, she will mark the occasion privately at home and hopes to return to public duties early next week."
On the news of the Queen not being able to join the rest of the Royal Family at the two events, Jennie told us: "This is such a shame, as to see all the senior royals back on parade together would have been heartening.
"Chest infections can be quite nasty as you grow older and it’s important that the queen follows her doctor’s advice and rests. But there are other factors at play here as well: she wouldn’t want to risk passing the infection onto Catherine or anybody else."
Jennie added: "Another factor is that these are very solemn occasions and no one would want to interrupt the proceedings by coughing and wheezing. So I think Camilla would have had an uncomfortable evening and morning at these events, trying to suppress coughs.
"It will, though, be upsetting for her to miss such an important weekend. As the daughter of a military man, the Remembrance Day commemorations are dear to her heart."
