Kate Middleton sends apology letter for missing rehearsal of King Charles’ birthday parade
Kate Middleton apologized this week for missing the rehearsal of King Charles’ annual birthday parade as she continues undergoing cancer treatment.
The Irish Guards, who are leading Trooping the Colour this year, said in a tweet they were “deeply touched” by the letter they received Saturday morning from the Princess of Wales, 42, who serves as their honorary colonel and traditionally would have participated in this weekend’s Colonel’s Review.
“I wanted to write and let you know how proud I am of the entire Regiment ahead of the Colonel’s Review and Trooping the Colour,” Middleton wrote. “I appreciate everyone trooping this year has been practicing for months, and dedicating many hours to ensuring their uniforms and drill are immaculate.”
Noting that she regards her position as colonel “a great honour,” Middleton said she’s “very sorry that I’m unable [to] take the salute at this year’s Colonel’s Review.”
“Please pass my apologies to the whole Regiment, however I do hope that I am able to represent you all once again very soon,” she wrote.
Both the princess in her letter and the Irish Guards in their tweet signed off with the regiment’s motto, “Quis Separabit” — a Latin phrase taken from the Order of St. Patrick that translates to “Who shall separate us?”
The letter comes just over a week after Kensington Palace confirmed the princess would not take part in the Colonel’s Review ahead of the parade, set for June 15.
Middleton would normally be a major part of Trooping the Colour, the yearly military exhibition marking the sovereign’s official birthday.
After undergoing a successful abdominal surgery in January, Kensington Palace announced Middleton would likely refrain from public duties until after Easter. Speculation about the royal’s condition soon followed — especially as her hospitalization overlapped with that of the 75-year-old king, who shortly thereafter announced his cancer diagnosis.
In March, the Princess of Wales confirmed she too had been diagnosed with cancer and was undergoing preventative chemotherapy.
A spokesman for the palace told BBC last month that Middleton is “not expected to return to work until it’s cleared by her medical team.”
