Strange new Princess Kate pattern emerges as she returns to work

As the Princess of Wales slowly returns to work, one thing has become very clear – and it’s a highly unusual change for the royal.

What do you think it would have been like to write about the royal family circa 2003 – 2011?

The late Queen had knee surgery. Prince Philip beat out Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the wife of George III, as the longest-serving British royal consort.

Hold. The. Front. Page. (Monarchs Gone Mild?)

Royal life was dreary stuff. Bridges were opened. Colours trooped. Philip kept upright.

But no. You and I, we live in interesting times, when a prince can quit princing in a fit of pique, write a paint-peeling memoir and accept tens of millions to all but sell his iPhone photos to a streamer.

We have watched a duchess realise, in real time, that Cinderella was not a how-to guide.

And who can forget that duke who still seems to see nothing wrong with holidaying with a convicted pedophile?

And then 2024 came around and said “hold my beer”, with the twin cancer diagnoses of King Charles and Kate, the Princess of Wales.

The twin cancer diagnoses of King Charles and Kate, the Princess of Wales was a huge shock. Picture: Chris Jackson/Getty Images

Now, with the princess slowly returning to work, we are entering another strange new phase. Yes, even more strange.

There was a time when where Kate would be and what she would be doing on certain days was set more deeply in stone than stuff you would find etched on tablets in Moses’ back shed.

Anything to do with the military, horses, Christmas, the Commonwealth. You could set your watch – and your Hello! covers – by it.

The key word though is “was”, because that dependability has pretty much gone in the bin. Kate’s very gradual resumption of some work has seen her pop up in unplanned moments and then disappear from view at others when she might have been expected to appear.

Rhyme and/or reason? Adios.

This coming week will see this peculiar new pattern in full force.

Princess Kate pictured in 2023 ahead of the coronations of Britain's King Charles III and Britain's Camilla, Queen Consort. Picture: Odd Andersen/AFP

Firstly, on November 6, Prince William will travel to South Africa for his ripper of an Earthshot Prize which will take place in Cape Town. Despite this being half of his marquee, legacy-defining work, despite what a biggie this is, his own “strength and stay” Kate will not be there.

We think. But who actually knows? Maybe the princess will emerge on the green carpet in a dress made entirely of upcycled H&M carrier bags and rubies so valuable they could plug the billion pound gaps in the health service.

While it is unlikely that Kate, post-cancer – who as she told the world earlier this year has “good days and bad days” – will make the international trip, it is impossible to conclusively say that she has not gone until the absolute last moment.

Princess Kate takes part in the first Children's Picnic at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, at the Royal Hospital Chelsea in 2023. Picture: Jordan Pettitt-WPA Pool/Getty Images

Where the Princess of Wales was once perfectly predictable in every way, the new MO is to keep everyone guessing about exactly what is happening until the very last minute.

After Earthshot, on Sunday, November 10 comes the National Service of Remembrance at the Cenotaph in London, a truly red letter event on the royal calendar. Kate has never missed a Remembrance Sunday and Kensington Palace has been putting it about the place that she hopes to be able to attend.

However, again, we won’t know until the very last minute with any skerrick of real definiteness having gone the way of her extensive frock collection. (Now, that, that I won’t mourn for a second).

The 42-year-old certainly likes to spring things on us these days.

In early September, the princess shocked the world with a three-minute-plus video announcing she had finished chemotherapy, an intimate, lengthy way of going about things that was unprecedented and not necessary by any means.

Prince William and Princess Kate with 16-year-old cancer sufferer Liz Hatton and her family. Picture: Instagram

Then, on October 2, she was at Windsor Castle where she surprised 16-year-old photographer Liz Hatton, who has a rare and aggressive form of cancer, with a meeting and a hug.

Princess Kate hugged Liz Hatton. Picture: Instagram/@princeandprincessofwales

A bit over a week later came another upset, when she joined William to travel to Southport where Bebe King, 6, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, 9, were murdered during a Taylor Swift dance class in July.

It was their first joint appearance in nearly a year.

Princess Kate and Prince William during a visit to Southport Community Centre on October 10, 2024. Picture: Danny Lawson – WPA Pool/Getty Images

It was their first joint appearance in nearly a year. Picture: Danny Lawson – WPA Pool/Getty Images

So can we definitely say that Kate won’t be at Earthshot? It’s unlikely, but you won’t find me putting any money on it.

Clearly, this is the way that things are going to be for a while now – we can make reasonable guesses about where, when and how the princess might appear, but absolute calls are impossible to make unless you happen to be a board-certified psychic.

The interesting thing in all of this is that the palace can make this all happen. What the last couple of months have demonstrated is that they move, comparatively speaking, with a degree of agility that we could not have predicted this time last year.

So where might we be in a week? God knows. Maybe Kate will have gone to everything or nothing or maybe Queen Camilla will have announced she has done a cameo on UK Drag Race.

Whichever way, I hope that H&M dress idea gets a go. The Bahrain jewellery suite and some old bags hemmed together? It would not even make the top three oddest things that have happened in the last five years.

Daniela Elser is a writer, editor and a royal commentator with more than 15 years’ experience working with a number of Australia’s leading media titles

Originally published as Strange new Princess Kate pattern emerges as she returns to work