Princess Catherine returns to work after completing cancer treatment
Princess Catherine has made a quiet return to royal duties as King Charles looks to mend fences with his estranged son.
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Princess Catherine has held her first official engagement since revealing that she had completed treatment for an undisclosed cancer.
The Princess of Wales attended a private meeting at Windsor Castle, according to the Royal Circular, a daily briefing of royal activities published in the Times newspaper.
“The Princess of Wales, Joint Patron, The Royal Foundation of The Prince and Princess of Wales, this afternoon held an Early Years meeting at Windsor Castle,” an entry from Tuesday read.
No pictures of Princess Catherine or details of the meeting were released by Buckingham Palace. The Royal Foundation is the main philanthropic vehicle for Prince William and Princess Catherine, supporting community groups that work on early years education, homelessness and conservation projects.
The princess revealed in a family video last week that her cancer treatment was finished. “Although I have finished chemotherapy, my path to healing and full recovery is long and I must continue to take each day as it comes,” she said.
The princess has appeared in public since she revealed she was undergoing cancer treatment in March, including at the men’s final at Wimbledon in July. She sat in the Royal Box with her daughter, Charlotte, and sister, Pippa Middleton Matthews.
In June, she attended Trooping the Colour, an annual military parade to celebrate the birthday of King Charles III, her father-in-law. It emerged in February that King Charles himself was receiving cancer treatment.
Their absence has led to a distinct shortage of senior royals available to carry out official daily duties since the death of the Queen in 2022, the departure of Prince Harry and Meghan to California and, Prince Andrew stepping down from frontline duties.
It comes as King Charles has “left the door open” for a meeting with Prince Harry, in a move that they could heal their broken relationship, a royal expert has claimed.
Father and son could finally meet as Prince Harry prepares to make his second trip home in a month to attend the WellChild Awards ceremony in London on September 30.
The Duke of Sussex returned to Britain at the end of August to attend his uncle’s funeral.
During the memorial service, Prince Harry was said to have spent three hours at the church and wake. Prince William was also present but the estranged brothers did not speak.
But royal expert Hugo Vickers believes Prince Harry’s rapid return to the UK could result in a meeting and reconciliation with his father.
“Well, he does seem to be coming quite often, doesn’t he? Which in some ways is a good sign, I think,” Mr Vickers told The Sun.
Wishing a Happy 40th Birthday to The Duke of Sussex! https://t.co/ZKJbYDmV6L
— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) September 15, 2024
“If he keeps coming at least there is a chance at some stage he’ll meet up with his father, and you know, maybe this can be a step towards some sort of reconciliation.
“I think there’s quite a long way to go but it’s nice that he feels he can come here anyway.”
But the royal expert warned Prince Harry any face-to-face encounter would be on his father’s terms.
“If I may put it like this, if the King wishes to see him, he will arrange to see him,” he said.
“If he doesn’t wish to see him, he’ll be too busy. Simple as that.”
In what appeared to be a brief end to hostilities, Prince Harry’s 40th birthday was also marked on the Royal Family’s social media alongside a relaxed photo of the Duke smiling.
The conciliatory message was shared by The Prince and Princess of Wales’ account with the message: “Wishing a Happy 40th Birthday to The Duke of Sussex.”
However, Mr Vickers said a meeting with King Charles is far more likely than with Prince William.
“I think it’s much more likely that he’ll have a meeting with the King,” he said. “I don’t think there’s any particular wish on Prince William’s behalf to see his brother. I mean they were both at Lord Fellows’ funeral or memorial service in Norfolk recently.
“They didn’t actually speak so no, I don’t think there will be any particular wish for them to get together.”
The Duke of Sussex was also in the UK in May for the 10th anniversary of his Invictus Games at St Paul’s Cathedral.
But his father King Charles was “too busy” to see his son.
Prince William has not spoken to his younger brother for two years following a series of insults and revelations in Prince Harry’s six-part Netflix documentary and memoir Spare.
In February, Prince Harry flew to the UK to see his father just hours after the King revealed he had been diagnosed with cancer.
But he was limited to a half an hour meeting in London and was prevented from joining him as he recovered from his treatment in Sandringham.
Prince Harry is suing the British Home Office after his right to 24-hour armed police was removed when he stepped down as a working royal four and a half years ago. In July, he claimed it was “too dangerous” to travel to the UK with his family.
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