Kate's absence from huge royal event means 'time to review role of loyal royals' (2024)

Kate Middleton is set to make an appearance at Trooping the Colour this year, but the Princess of Wales' appearance is yet to be confirmed amid her preventative cancer treatment

The grand finale of Trooping the Colour, a key event in the Royal calendar, may look noticeably different this year. The Buckingham Palace balcony, usually packed with royals for the spectacular RAF flypast, could appear rather empty. Amid this pared-down family gathering, there's a chance that one of the most beloved members of the Firm might also be absent.

42-year-old Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales is currently undergoing preventative cancer treatment, and her attendance at Trooping has yet to be confirmed. However, it's understood she might make an appearance if she feels up to it. Kensington Palace has confirmed that the Princess won't officially participate in the final dress rehearsal for the King's birthday celebrations on June 8, but hasn't ruled out her presence at the main event a week later.

Following the precedent set over the past two years, it's thought that King Charles will only invite working royals to join him for the climax of his birthday festivities. This would mean no room for younger royals like Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, not to mention Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, who are likely to stay put in California.

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And one royal expert believes that, rather than raising questions about the estranged Duke and duch*ess of Sussex, this moment should lead to an opportunity for the more "loyal" family members

Royal historian and expert Dr Tessa Dunlop told the Mirror: "Whether [Kate] will make a balcony appearance on the big day on June 15 remains the great unknown. My hunch is she will give us a wave, but if she doesn't (entirely her prerogative) questions about Harry and Meghan are bound to surface. These are futile, even in 2022 the Sussexes were out of the picture, glimpsed briefly at a window and not invited on the balcony.

"This year that balcony cast will have even slimmer pickings if the Princess of Wales stays away. In which case might it be time to review the role of non-working royals? All those cousins Eugenie, Beatrice, and Zara who have long behaved with hallmark loyalty would surely relish the prospect of standing shoulder to shoulder with their King. After all, isn't that what families are for?"

Tessa noted that this year's Trooping the Colour will demonstrate how much has altered for the Royal Family - even within just one year. She said: "2024 is not royal service as usual. And nor should it be. Our most glamorous royal player, like her father-in-law and King, has cancer and health must come first. But let's not pretend Kate won't be missed at Trooping the Colour. The King's official birthday parade ties us back through time to centuries of pomp and ceremony. No one does that better than the Princess of Wales who in the last decade has owned the stage as Britain's most eye-catching stateswoman.

"The last Trooping the Colour I attended was that bittersweet summer of 2022, the late Queen's Platinum Jubilee. Too frail for Horse Guards Parade, Her Majesty popped out on the balcony. It was the climax to a great day which saw Charles, then Prince of Wales, on horseback and a Disney moment when, in a pop of colour, Princess Catherine fluttered by in a horse-drawn carriage. The crowd gasped. This was British royalty at its best."

"Much can change in two short years. The new King will be present for his birthday parade, but won't review the troops on horseback. There are limits when undergoing cancer treatment at age 75. Likewise for the Princess of Wales, things look very different in 2024. She has climbed the ranks, and with her new honorary role as Colonel of the Irish Guards ordinarily, she would have taken the salute. But these are not ordinary times. Kate won't attend the Colonel's Review (Trooping's rehearsal on 8 June)."

While Tessa considers Kate as "British royalty at its best", she believes her decision on whether or not to attend will inevitably spark "pointless" questions about Harry and Meghan, who are now "out of the picture".