It’s hard to believe—as there has been so much packed into the first 21 months of King Charles’ reign that it somehow feels far longer—but this is only the King’s second Trooping the Colour as monarch since taking the throne in September 2022. His first, held last June and right on the heels of his May 6 Coronation, felt quite different from this one—one that saw the day start with dark skies, ample rain, and ominous weather, and end with, blessedly, the sun breaking through. The London weather, actually, is rather indicative of 2024 in the royal family: it has no question about it been a difficult season—dark, stormy, even ominous at times—but Trooping the Colour was the proverbial sun shining again, even when maybe, at one point, it felt like it never would.
At last year’s Trooping the Colour—the annual birthday parade of the monarch, held every June because of the supposedly favorable weather in London at the time (a theory that decidedly did not hold up this year)—Prince William, heir to the throne, stood next to his father, the King, on the Buckingham Palace balcony for the Royal Air Force flypast the royal family so enjoys. But this year, it was a different lineup: swapped out for William was the Princess of Wales, who has grown closer than ever to her father-in-law as both battle cancer, diagnosed in an almost eerily similar way—after both were scheduled for noncancerous procedures at The London Clinic in January, both procedures detected cancer. Charles announced his diagnoses on February 5, the same day he began treatment, while Kate announced hers on March 22 in a video message played around the world.
The King and the Princess of Wales standing side-by-side on Saturday is not just a coincidence—and illustrates how tight the bond between the two has become. “This can be interpreted as a gesture of solidarity and support from Charles to Catherine,” royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams told The Sun.
Body language expert Judi James, speaking to The Mirror, said that the King’s decision to stand next to Kate shows her “as both a status equal and a cherished relation,” James said. “Placed directly next to him in the lineup, it was Kate who was given the majority of the King’s attention. Their chats looked animated and ended in shared laughter a couple of times. The way Kate leant in towards Charles to talk at the start suggested this is a mutually supportive relationship.”
She added that “Kate relaxed as the chats went on, and by the end of the appearance her wide, fun, dimpled smile had returned. Charles also seemed grateful for the empathetic bond with Kate as, by the singing of the anthem, he was looking brought close to tears by the crowd’s support for them both.”
Fitzwilliams told The Sun that, while the King’s decision to have Kate stand next to him on the balcony was certainly one made from love, it also wasn’t lost that the moment that the world saw them together would be symbolic for the public: “Let’s be frank,” he said. “It would have been very stressful to go through with all of the ceremony. It’s all in the eye of the worldwide media storm. Britain is known for its ceremonial brilliance. King Charles and the Princess of Wales knew very well every movement would be photographed that was public.” He added the moment “was something that went very successfully, and the image was of absolute solidarity” and that Charles’ decision to stand next to Kate is something Fitzwilliams said he would pay “the highest possible compliment—I believe the late Queen would have been proud of the way they handled it.”
Though Kate’s decision to attend largely had to do with her three children Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis—they reportedly love the event and, knowing William would be riding on horseback, Kate likely didn’t want them to ride in the carriage with anyone other than her. But, Rebecca English of The Daily Mail writes, the decision also had to do with her desire to be there for the King at his birthday parade: “For Kate, there was also a determination to support the father-in-law she has become increasingly close to over the years, and with whom she now shares the unenviable bond of a serious health battle,” English wrote.
Ahead of her announcement on Friday that she would be attending Trooping the Colour the next day, Kate had what The Daily Express calls “a heartfelt chat” with Charles before releasing her statement alongside a photo taken earlier in the week at Windsor by Matt Porteous, a longtime favorite photographer of the Wales family. After telling her father-in-law, Kate Mansey, royal editor at The Times, said, per The Daily Express, that news of Kate’s return was “so significant” that all major political parties were informed earlier in the day as well, and that, she said, “the Palace alerted No. 10 and The Cabinet Office who, in turn, have informed the opposition political parties.” The announcement was made at 6 p.m. U.K. time on Friday to maximize impact.
The next day, “It is no accident that Kate stood next to the King,” body language expert Noor Hibbert told Hello. “It seems apparent that he respects and cherishes Kate. They often engaged in animated laughter and conversation, which can be seen in the pictures. The eye contact shows genuine connection and, no doubt, a bond that has grown deeper with their shared experiences of cancer.”
Ahead of Saturday’s appearance, a Buckingham Palace spokesperson shared that the King was “delighted” that Kate would join him and the rest of the royal family for Trooping the Colour the next day. Though Kate’s statement Friday did say she hoped to “join a few public engagements over the summer” as her treatment continues, she is not expected to attend the Order of the Garter service or Royal Ascot this week, Hello reports—both, like Trooping the Colour, annual staples in the royal calendar.
