Will Kate Middleton Attend Trooping of the Colour Amid Her Cancer Battle? Royal Expert Weighs in

As Princess Kate Middleton halts her public duties amid her cancer battle, some royal enthusiasts are already counting down to June 15 to see if she’ll step out at Trooping the Colour.

Royal expert Christopher Andersen thinks it is unlikely that Kate, 42, will stand on the Buckingham Palace balcony with other members of the royal family on that date.

"This is going to be interesting, isn't it?” Andersen exclusively told Us Weekly on Thursday, May 9. “She may appear on the balcony; that’s not too much of a strain on her, I wouldn't think. But [if] she doesn't, it's just going to look sad and odd and send the message [that] things are perhaps a little worse than we thought and so we'll have to wait and see.”

One of Kate and husband Prince William’s recurring duties includes attending Trooping the Colour, the annual celebration of the reigning monarch’s birthday, each June. William, 41, and Kate usually bring their three kids — Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 9, and Prince Louis, 6 — to watch the military flypast from the Buckingham Palace balcony.

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The Princess of Wales has been privately undergoing preventive chemotherapy treatment after being diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer in January. When Kate revealed her diagnosis two months later, she explained that she would take a step back from her public-facing duties until her doctors medically cleared her to return to work.

In Kate’s absence, William has been making solo appearances throughout England.

At Trooping the Colour, the Wales family is usually joined by King Charles III, who is also battling cancer, and his wife, Queen Camilla. Charles’ siblings Princess Anne and Prince Edward, along with their respective spouses, have also frequently stood on the perch for the occasion.

This year’s Trooping the Colour parade takes place on Saturday, June 15, but further details about who will be on the balcony have not been officially confirmed.

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“I understand she's not taking [on appearances] and the only thing that could be required of her [during Trooping the Colour[ is to be on that balcony with the children and William,” Andersen told Us. “If William’s there alone, it'll be quite a sad moment.”

According to Andersen, Kate’s prolonged hiatus has led to “wild speculation” about her condition. (William, meanwhile, has recently asserted that Kate and the kids are all doing “well.”)

“I think sunlight is the best treatment here. I think that in terms of their public relations approach to this, that [the palace] really should step up and tell people, maybe not in great detail, but at least what we're dealing with here,” Anderson told Us, speculating that “we’re not being told the details for a reason.”

He added, “I don't want to stir things up unnecessarily, but … there are a number of cancers that are more easily handled [successfully] than others.”

With reporting by Christina Garibaldi