Kate, Princess of Wales, stood alongside King Charles III and other royal family members on a Buckingham Palace balcony on Saturday, making her first public appearance since she was diagnosed with cancer early this year. Her attendance at the King's Birthday Parade comes after a difficult few months for the royals, during which both Kate and the king were treated for cancer.
Kate said she is "making good progress," but still has a few months of treatment to go, and won't be returning to full-time public duties just yet.
Charles has been easing back into public engagements since April following a three-month break to focus on his treatment and recuperation after he was diagnosed with an undisclosed type of cancer.
Here’s a timeline of recent events in the royal family:
— Sept. 8, 2022: Charles becomes king upon the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II.
— March 29,2023: Charles makes first foreign visit as monarch to Germany.
— May 6, 2023: The new monarch is crowned at Westminster Abbey.
— Sept. 20, 2023: Charles makes state visit to France, making stop at fire-damaged Notre Dame cathedral.
— Oct. 31, 2023: Charles makes state visit to Kenya; expresses sorrow and regret for past violence committed against Kenyans as they sought independence.
— Dec. 25, 2023: Charles attends Christmas service at Sandringham, the royal estate on the eastern English coast, alongside alongside Prince William, Kate, their children and other members of the royal family. It will be Kate's last public appearance for six months.
— Jan. 16, 2024: Kate, 42, is admitted to the London Clinic and undergoes abdominal surgery. The news isn’t announced until the next day.
— Jan. 17: Kensington Palace reveals that Kate is recovering from a planned operation. Officials say her condition isn’t cancer-related but did not specify what surgery it was, only saying it was successful. They say she will remain in the private hospital for 10-14 days and be away from public view until after Easter.
Buckingham Palace announces on the same day that King Charles will be treated for a benign enlarged prostate.
— Jan. 21: Prince Andrew’s ex-wife, Sarah, Duchess of York, says she has malignant melanoma, a form of skin cancer.
— Jan. 26: Charles is admitted to a London hospital for a three-day stay for his prostate treatment.
— Jan. 29: Kate and Charles are both discharged from the London Clinic. Charles is photographed leaving the hospital with Camilla and waving at well-wishers. Kate is not pictured leaving the hospital.
— Feb. 5: Buckingham Palace announces that Charles has cancer and will receive treatment. Officials do not say what form of cancer the king has.
— Feb. 7: Prince Harry arrives in the U.K. from California to visit his father. He departs the next day.
— Feb. 11: Charles cheerfully waves to well-wishers after leaving church services near his country estate in eastern England, his first public outing since his cancer diagnosis.
— Feb. 27: William pulls out of a memorial service for his godfather, King Constantine of Greece, due to a “personal matter.” His office declines to elaborate but says Kate continues to do well.
Later the same day, Buckingham Palace says Thomas Kingston, the son-in-law of Prince Michael of Kent, has died at the age of 45.
— March 1: An inquest hears that Thomas Kingston died from a “traumatic head wound” on Feb. 25. A gun was found near his body at his parents’ home.
— March 10: Kensington Palace releases a photo of Kate surrounded by her children to mark Mother’s Day in Britain. The photo, the first official one since she underwent surgery, was retracted hours later by The Associated Press and other news agencies over concerns it had been digitally manipulated.
— March 11: Amid speculation about her health sparked by the edited family photo, Kate issues an apology on social media for the “confusion” caused. She says she “occasionally experiments with editing” like many amateur photographers.
— March 16: The Sun newspaper publishes a video reportedly showing a smiling and relaxed Kate shopping with William at a farm shop near their Windsor home.
— March 20: The Information Commissioner’s Office says it is investigating a report that at least one member of staff at the London Clinic tried to snoop on Kate’s medical records while she was a patient at the hospital.
— March 22: In a video address, Kate announces she is undergoing treatment for cancer, including chemotherapy. She says she is getting stronger every day, but needs to focus on her recovery.
— March 31: Charles attends Easter Service at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor, shaking hands and greeting well-wishers who waited in the cold outside the service.
— April 26: Buckingham Palace announces Charles will return to public-facing duties.
— June 6: Charles attends commemorations in Normandy marking the 80th anniversary of D-Day, the Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied France during World War II.
— June 14: Kate issues an update on her health, saying she has “good days and bad days” but is “blown away” by the public's support. She says she will attend ceremonies the next day to mark the monarch's official birthday.
— June 15: Kate attends the birthday ceremonies, also known as Trooping the Color, along with William, their three children and other members of the royal family. Crowds cheer when the royals emerge onto a Buckingham Palace balcony to watch a military flypast at the end of the event.
