Princess Kate Makes Rare Public Appearance Alongside Her Family and as She Continues Cancer Treatment

The Princess of Wales was spotted in public for the first time in over a month.

Prince William, Prince of Wales (Colonel of the Welsh Guards) and Catherine, Princess of Wales watch an RAF flypast from the balcony of Buckingham Palace after attending Trooping the Colour on June 15, 2024 in London, England.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Princess Kate has enjoyed a rare public outing with her family as she continues preventative treatments for an unspecified type of cancer.

On Sunday, Aug. 25, Kate Middleton was spotted attending a service at Crathie Church alongside her husband, Prince William, and their son, Prince George, according to photographs recently obtained by The Daily Mail.

In the photographs, the Princess of Wales can be seen wearing a brown jacket and dark brown hat from Hicks & Brown, which was adorned with a feather and, according to The Daily Mail, was the same hat the royal wore last year for a similar Sunday church service.

According to the outlet, Prince William, Prince George and Princess Kate were joined by a slew of other senior royals, including King Charles, Queen Camilla, Prince Edward, Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh, and the pair's son, James Wessex

The Princess of Wales' outing marked the first time the mom-of-three has been spotted in public since she made a surprise appearance at this year's Wimbledon Championships.

Prince William and Kate Middleton at Trooping the Colour

Prince William and Kate Middleton at Trooping the Colour.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

While senior members of the royal family prepare to dive head-first into their full public-facing schedules—including Prince William, who is preparing to say goodbye to his summer vacation and visit public visit to the Homelessness: Reframed exhibit at the Saatchi Gallery in London—reports indicate that Princess Kate will not return to anything resembling a "normal" working royal schedule for an undetermined amount of time...if at all.

Initially, reports claimed that Middleton's return to a full schedule of royal duties would be "delayed" as she prioritizes her ongoing preventative cancer treatments.

At the time, and after speaking to some of Princess Kate's friends, The Daily Mail’s Richard Eden reported that the royal would not return until the fall, and "only then if she has recovered fully" due to the fact that a full recovery is continuing to "take priority." Other reports claimed Princess Kate wouldn't return to a full schedule until 2025.

Another insider recently told RadarOnline.com that Middleton "may never return" to her full-time role within the monarchy. The same source suggested that the Princess of Wales would "reevaluate" her role and the amount of duties she would resume following her cancer treatment.

Since appearing at Wimbledon alongside her daughter, Princess Charlotte, and her sister, Pippa Middleton Matthews, Princess Kate was reportedly planning to purposefully avoid the public eye for the foreseeable future.

"Before, she used to live her life by the calendar, and now she is living her life, and the calendar comes in after," Robert Jobson, author of the new book Catherine, the Princess of Wales: A Biography of the Future Queen, told People in an exclusive interview.

"She will be back, but when you have had an experience like this," he added, "it changes your perspective and the order of things."

Danielle Campoamor
Weekend Editor

Danielle Campoamor is Marie Claire's weekend editor covering all things news, celebrity, politics, culture, live events, and more. In addition, she is an award-winning freelance writer and former NBC journalist with over a decade of digital media experience covering mental health, reproductive justice, abortion access, maternal mortality, gun violence, climate change, politics, celebrity news, culture, online trends, wellness, gender-based violence and other feminist issues. You can find her work in The New York Times, Washington Post, TIME, New York Magazine, CNN, MSNBC, NBC, TODAY, Vogue, Vanity Fair, Harper's Bazaar, Marie Claire, InStyle, Playboy, Teen Vogue, Glamour, The Daily Beast, Mother Jones, Prism, Newsweek, Slate, HuffPost and more. She currently lives in Brooklyn, New York with her husband and their two feral sons. When she is not writing, editing or doom scrolling she enjoys reading, cooking, debating current events and politics, traveling to Seattle to see her dear friends and losing Pokémon battles against her ruthless offspring. You can find her on X, Instagram, Threads, Facebook and all the places.