For the Brits, summertime has always been related to the numerous royal traditions they are looking forward to eagerly. One of the most popular events is the Trooping the Colour during which the British royal family appears at the balcony of the Buckingham Palace and waves to the crowd.
With that said, many are left wondering if Catherine, the Princess of Wales, would attend the significant event.
Following her plan abdominal surgery that took place in mid-January, speculations and rumors regarding her health and her whereabouts caused a stir in the media. No one knew why the Palace wasn’t issuing any statements. In fact, they have only addressed the public ones in a poorly written statement which assured everyone that the princess was doing well.
Shortly after, Kate published the infamous Mother’s Day photo of herself and her three children at the patio in front of their home which later turned out to be edited. Kate took the blame for the manipulation of the photo on herself and as much as many said she had the courage to confess her mistake, they were also mad at the Palace for not protecting Kate and for throwing her under the bus.
It wasn’t until March that Kate opened up of the real reason for her long absence from the spotlight. In a pre-recorded video, the mother of three disclosed with the public her cancer condition. She explained that the presence of cancer was detected by the doctors after they ran tests following her abdominal surgery. The news came around the time King Charles shared his own cancer diagnosis.
With that being said, Kate was given the time to recover. A person close to the family shared with the Daily Beast that her schedule is “empty” for the rest of the year.
“Lots of people involved in planning need to know what all the principals are doing a long way in advance,” the royal source said. “I am told that Kate’s diary for this year is empty. There is nothing planned. She may not appear in public for the rest of the year.”
Another friend of the family said that the Princess is prioritizing her mental health. “The key thing for her now is avoiding any kind of stress or anxiety and just getting on with the business of getting better,” the insider added. “They will bail out and be off to Sandringham the moment school breaks up.”
“I would not rule out another video message updating the country on her health,” the insider said. “That proved to be a very effective way of keeping the conspiracy theorists at bay.”
Trooping the Colour isn’t just one of the most famous British traditions, but it is believed to be the royal family’s favorite. It takes places for hundreds of years, with The Royal Museums Greenwich stating that the tradition was first started by King George II in 1748.
His November birthday was considered too cold for an outdoor parade, so it was decided to hold his military parade, Trooping the Colour, during the summer along with a public celebration. As a result, unless their actual birthday coincides with this summer event, Britain’s reigning monarch observes two birthdays annually. Trooping the Colour is usually held on the second Saturday in June each year.
According to the Royal Museums Greenwich, Trooping the Colour has its origins on the battlefield. A regiment’s flag, known as “colours,” was a crucial rallying point for soldiers during battle.
“In order to ensure that every soldier would be able to recognise their colours, the flag would be marched or ‘trooped’ regularly round the ranks. A regiment’s colours came to have huge significance for serving soldiers, and the gain or loss of colours were seen as decisive moments in battle,” the Royal Museums Greenwich shares on its website.
“This military function gained royal significance during the reign of George II, the first monarch to tie his birthday celebrations into the summer ceremony – despite the fact that his actual birthday was in November.
“[King] Edward VII also had a November birthday, and it was during his reign that the summer ‘official’ birthday celebrations were standardized. It was also under [King] Edward VII that the inspection of the troops by the monarch became part of the celebration.”
According to tradition, the monarch will be given a royal salute upon arrival to inspect the troops. The soldiers will be dressed in their customary red ceremonial uniforms and bearskin hats.
During the last year’s event, the children of the Prince and Princess of Wales were in attendance. Well, it was their grandfather that was celebrated, so their presence was expected. They arrived in a carriage together with their mother.
Experts agreed that Kate did all in her power to make George, Charlotte, and Louis behave. “She beamed with pride when Louis started miming drumming along with the band in the carriage,” body language expert Judy James said. “Talking to her children, there were a couple of gestures of what looked like guidance about when to wave.”
“There was also a spreading gesture of both hands that would normally mean quite a severe message of when to stop or what not to do, too,” the body language expert added.
“She also put her hands below public view in the carriage to mime that ‘stop’ or ‘end’ sign to them as though warning them where the boundaries were, and on the way back she was doing small reward nods and smiles for their good behaviour, to ensure they were enjoying the event too.”
Having in mind that Kate’s dairy was said to be empty until the rest of the year, not many expect her to appear on the palace’s balcony although they would like to see her there. However, the Daily Mail reports a shocking development: Kate Middleton is “understood to be considering” walking onto the balcony if she feels well enough.
We can’t wait to see the beloved princess where she belongs, among her people.
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