Kensington Palace Issued a Rare Update About Kate Middleton Ahead of Trooping the Colour

Kate Middleton will not attend the traditional rehearsal for Trooping the Colour on June 8, officials confirmed today in a rare update about the Princess of Wales as she continues her cancer treatment.

According to MailOnline, it has been confirmed the princess will not attend the Colonel’s Review next week and will not take the salute in her role as Colonel of the Irish Guards. MailOnline has said it “understands the attendance of other Royal Family members at Trooping the Colour events will be confirmed nearer the time of each one.”

In recent days, reports about the royal mother of three had seemed positive, with sources suggesting she has been seen “out and about more” after “turning a corner” with her preventive chemotherapy.

Yet, Kensington Palace has also emphpasized the need for “space and time” for Kate Middleton to recover, with sources suggesting earlier this month that she won’t be returning to royal duty till the autumn at the earliest. “No one wants to put any pressure on Catherine,” an insider told MailOnline last week. “The only thing that matters at the moment is her getting better. She has been through an ordeal this year.”

Despite Kate’s absence, the Trooping of the Colour ceremony is still scheduled to go ahead on June 15. It celebrates the sovereign’s official birthday and dates back to the 17th century. Last year’s event saw King Charles ride on horseback during the parade, marking the first time the reigning monarch has done so since 1986, when Queen Elizabeth II last rode. She later traveled in a carriage (as Queen Camilla and the Princess of Wales did at last year’s event). This year, King Charles will travel in a carriage with the queen amid his own cancer battle.

Insiders said this week that the princess was feeling “a lot better” since beginning her cancer treatment. Speaking to Vanity Fair’s Katie Nicholl, they said, “It has been a great relief that she is tolerating the medication and is actually doing a lot better,” adding that “everyone has rallied around” the princess, including the Prince of Wales and the Middletons, who have always been known to be a tight unit.

The new update will be a welcome relief to royal fans, with MailOnline stating this week the princess has been seen “out and about more” with her family.