British royal Kate Middleton to make first public appearance amid cancer battle

The Princess of Wales said on Friday she is “making good progress” in her cancer treatment and will attend King Charles III's ceremonial birthday parade on Saturday, Kate's first public appearance since her diagnosis.

The 42-year-old wife of Prince William has not made any public appearances this year. She announced in March that she was undergoing chemotherapy for an unspecified form of cancer.

“I am making good progress, but as anyone going through chemotherapy will know, there are good days and bad days,” Kate said in a statement released on Friday, adding that she faces “a few more months” of treatment.

“I'm looking forward to attending The King's Birthday Parade this weekend with my family and hope to join a few public engagements over the summer, but equally knowing I am not out of the woods yet,” Kate said.

The announcement is a significant milestone, but does not mark a return to full-time public duties for Kate. The palace issued a new photo of Kate, taken in Windsor earlier this week, showing her next to a tree, dressed casually in jeans and a blazer.

The palace said the king was “delighted” that Kate will attend Trooping the Colour, also known as the King's Birthday Parade. It is an annual military parade that marks the monarch's official birthday in June. Charles, who also is being treated for an undisclosed form of cancer, is due to oversee the ceremony, in which troops in full dress uniform parade past the king with their ceremonial flag, or “colour”.

Kate is expected to travel in a horse-drawn carriage from Buckingham Palace with the couple's children — Prince George, 10; Princess Charlotte, 9; and Prince Louis, who is 6 — before watching the ceremony from a building beside the parade ground. She may also join other royals for a traditional Buckingham Palace balcony appearance.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the princess' statement was “wonderful news".

“I thought it was brave, I thought it was honest and I'm sure it will bring an enormous amount of comfort to so many other people who are grappling with similar health challenges,” Sunak said at a Group of Seven summit in Italy.

Kate's announcement in March came after speculation proliferated on social media about her well being and absence from public view. She has revealed few details about her illness, which was discovered after what she described as major abdominal surgery in January.

In a March video message, Kate said the diagnosis had come as “a huge shock, and William and I have been doing everything we can to process and manage this privately for the sake of our young family”.

On Friday, Kate thanked members of the public, saying she had been “blown away by all the kind messages of support and encouragement”.

“I am learning how to be patient, especially with uncertainty. Taking each day as it comes, listening to my body, and allowing myself to take this much needed time to heal,” she said. “Thank you so much for your continued understanding, and to all of you who have so bravely shared your stories with me.” Charles, 75, disclosed his cancer in February, and has recently eased back into public duties. He attended commemorations this week for the 80th anniversary of D-Day, the invasion of Nazi-occupied Europe on June 6, 1944.

Charles is likely to travel to Saturday's event by carriage with Queen Camilla and is expected to watch the ceremony seated on a dais, rather than on horseback as he did last year.