How Prince William masked personal pain over Kate Middleton’s cancer diagnosis: Prince of Wales returned to work as his wife and King Charles both battled disease, juggling royal duties with looking after his family

Prince William has continued to put on a brave face while juggling royal duties with looking after his family as his wife battles cancer – and the Princess of Wales will be back by his side for the Trooping the Colour tomorrow.

Kate, 42, has thanked the public for their support as she revealed she will be attending tomorrow’s event where she will join the Royal Family on the Buckingham Palace balcony in a positive sign that her treatment has been going well.

The mother-of-three’s last official public appearance was at Sandringham on Christmas Day, when she was pictured smiling with her husband and the rest of her family.

During her absence from public life, Kate had abdominal surgery and then revealed on March 23 that she was undergoing ‘preventative chemotherapy’ for an undisclosed form of cancer.

She was also subjected to cruel conspiracy theories about her whereabouts and health – while she was forced to apologise after editing an official Mother’s Day photograph.

But after months away, Kate will be making an appearance at tomorrow’s Trooping the Colour – something William will no doubt welcome after having to mask his personal pain and reassure the public she is ‘doing well’ for several weeks.

While she will not be returning to public duties full time, she does now feel well enough, however, to undertake a small number of public engagements in the coming months. 

The first will be at the King’s official birthday parade tomorrow where she will ride in a carriage with her children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis before appearing on the Buckingham Palace balcony alongside the rest of the Royal Family.

To mark the news Kensington Palace have also released a stunning new portrait of the princess taken at Windsor this week by Matt Porteous showing her looking well and in a reflective mood.

In her message the Princess says she has been ‘blown away’ by all the kind messages of support and encouragement over the last couple of months.

‘It really has made the world of difference to William and me and has helped us both through some of the harder times,’ she wrote.

Movingly she reveals she is making ‘good progress’, but adds: ‘As anyone going through chemotherapy will know, there are good days and bad days. On those bad days you feel weak, tired and you have to give in to your body resting. But on the good days, when you feel stronger, you want to make the most of feeling well.’

She added: ‘My treatment is ongoing and will be for a few more months. On the days I feel well enough, it is a joy to engage with school life, spend personal time on the things that give me energy and positivity, as well as starting to do a little work from home.

‘I’m looking forward to attending The King’s Birthday Parade this weekend with my family and hope to join a few public engagements over the summer, but equally knowing I am not out of the woods yet.

‘I am learning how to be patient, especially with uncertainty. Taking each day as it comes, listening to my body, and allowing myself to take this much needed time to heal.

‘Thank you so much for your continued understanding, and to all of you who have so bravely shared your stories with me.’

The Prince of Wales initially postponed engagements to look after Kate but returned to duties on April 18 where he visited a food distribution charity in Surrey before heading to a nearby youth centre in west London. 

Here, he promised to ‘look after’ his wife and was handed two get well soon cards, addressed to Kate and King Charles – who has also been battling cancer.

The Prince of Wales also visited Birmingham in April, where he surprised a young schoolboy who had invited the royal to see their mental health initiatives.

At the end of April, he told royal fans that Kate was ‘doing well’ during a walkabout in Newcastle, where he visited a suicide prevention charity.

In May, William was spotted watching his boyhood club Aston Villa play Olympiacos in the UEFA Conference League semi-final, while he also handed out honours at Windsor Castle.

Later in the month, the prince – otherwise known as the Duke of Cornwall – took a trip down to the south west where he showed off his volleyball skills on the beach.

He was then given  command of Prince Harry’s former Army regiment by King Charles in Hampshire in what was the father and son’s first joint engagement sine 2022.

During the busy month, he also gave a speech at the Royal Society in London, attended the Sovereign’s Garden Party at Buckingham Palace, carried out another investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle and went to the FA Cup final as President of the FA with his son, George.

This month, William gave a speech at the D-Day celebrations in Portsmouth and France, attended the society wedding of the year in Chester and visited the England football squad at St George’s Park before they travelled to Germany for the Euros.

He most recently visited Cardiff on June 11, where he revealed he never played golf again after being hit on the head by a club as a child – while admiring seaweed-made golf tees.

William has carried out all of these events while juggling looking after his family and most importantly, Kate.

During a number of these events, royal fans have asked for updates on Kate or passed on their best wishes. 

He has played an active role and engaged with members of the public, whilst coping with his wife’s illness and looking after their children.

The parents are known for their hands-on and down-to-earth approach to parenting, and both have an active role in caring for their children.

Juggling parenting with other responsibilities will not be anything new for William, who typically combines it with royal duties.

The Prince and Princess of Wales are reported to be ‘like a normal mum and dad’ who throw themselves into events at their children’s school, sources have claimed.

Prince William will be heading to Germany for the Euros next week – in another sign that Catherine is recovering well.

At the D-Day event last week, William said that she was ‘doing better’ – and the news that she will be returning to public duties tomorrow is a massive boost for the nation.

Speaking to a veteran in a wheelchair, he said: ‘She is better, thanks. She would’ve loved to be here today.’ 

Before the England squad left for Germany,  William was in good spirits as he shared some advice that his youngest son, Louis, had shared.

He said: ‘Guys, while I was on the way here, I was thinking what shall I say. And I thought what can I offer as you are all an experienced team here with Gareth and I was thinking what could I say to help before you went away?

‘And I was on the school run this morning with the children and I said ‘What shall I say to the England team today’.

‘The best bit of advice I got was to eat twice the amount you would normally eat. And I now have visions of all of you running around with massive tummies and getting stitches on the pitch. So I think take my youngest’s advice with a pinch of salt!’

England captain Harry Kane responded: ‘I don’t think our nutritionist will be happy with that advice.’

It was March when Kate ended months of speculation about her whereabouts by shocking the world with her cancer scare.

But throughout that all, William put on a brave face during royal duties.

In February, he spoke to Holocaust survivor Renee Salt at the Western Marble Arch Synagogue in central London where he took part in discussions about the rise in anti-Semitism in Britain.

It was his first public appearance after pulling out of the memorial service for his godfather, the late King Constantine II of Greece, which was reportedly when he found out about his wife’s diagnosis.

Then, just three days before Kate’s emotional video announcement, William attended a conference to help end homelessness in the Millennium Gallery in Sheffield.

During his visit to the Western Marble Arch Synagogue, William was seen holding Ms Salt’s hand, as the 95-year-old said to him: ‘I’m sorry, I’m sure that if your wife would’ve been well, she would’ve been here. I miss her so much. Give her my best wishes, please.’

She spoke of her experiences at a Nazi concentration camp, prompting William to ask: ‘How did you manage?’

She replied: ‘It wasn’t easy. Somehow I survived.’ William held her hand when she described how her family were affected by the rise in antisemitism in recent months.

William told her: ‘I’m so sorry it’s got to this stage, it will get better.’

He added: ‘We were going to come closer to the Holocaust memorial day but unfortunately we had to move it but glad to be able to meet today.’

Karen Pollock, chief executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust, gave William a bouquet of flowers for Kate as they stood with Rabbi Daniel Epstein, who has headed up the Marble Arch synagogue since 2021 with his wife Illana.

Three days before Kate’s emotional video announcement, William also attended a conference to help end homelessness in the Millennium Gallery in Sheffield.

When the topic of childhood was raised by Sheffield City Council chief executive Kate Josephs, William immediately remarked about the success of Kate’s early years projects.

Holding his palms out and smiling, he said: ‘Venturing into my wife’s territory here. She needs to be sat here to hear this.’

The sweet remark was touching at the time but even more so now that we know why Kate was unable to attend.

Returning to duties for the first time after his wife’s abdominal surgery and his father’s cancer diagnosis the Prince of Wales hosted a gala dinner for the Air Ambulance service and gave a speech.

Despite everything going on in his personal life he still managed to crack a joke, he said: ‘I’d like to take this opportunity to say thank you, also, for the kind messages of support for Catherine and for my father, especially in recent days. It means a great deal to us all.

‘It’s fair to say the past few weeks have had a rather ‘medical’ focus. So I thought I’d come to an air ambulance function to get away from it all!’