Kensington Palace Corrects False Kate Middleton Report Regarding Rehearsal for King Charles’s Birthday Celebration

Her attendance at this official event was very much the subject of conversation after her participation was confirmed, then immediately retracted, in early March and just a few weeks before Kate shared her cancer diagnosis with the world. Her absence means a pivot will be made, given her official role as Inspecting Officer, and Lieutenant General James Bucknall, KCB, CBE, will step in.

This announcement comes on the heels of several royal reports that suggest Kate won’t be returning to royal business as usual for quite some time. (Some say fall while other reports suggest it won’t be until 2025.)

Of course, most of this is hearsay at this point, although Katie Nicholl, a royal reporter for Vanity Fair, recently shared that while Kate will wait to return to work when she’s ready—and gets the green light from her medical team—she has “turned a corner” when it comes to her health. (My co-host Roberta Fiorito and I talk more about this on the latest episode of the Royally Obsessed podcast.) Prince William also shared at an event in early May that his wife Kate is “doing well” and she was recently spotted running errands with her family—all good signs.

No official word has been shared about whether or not Kate will attend Trooping the Colour, which will be held on June 15 and marks King Charles’s “official” birthday. That said, the king—who is also undergoing treatment for cancer—and Queen Camilla’s attendance has been confirmed.

Of course, Kate focusing on her health is what’s most important—still, we hope to see her soon.