How King Charles broke royal balcony protocol for Kate Middleton at Trooping the Colour
19 June 2024, 17:37 | Updated: 20 June 2024, 14:00
The Princess of Wales stood next to King Charles on the balcony of Buckingham Palace for Trooping the Colour at the weekend, a break from tradition which was designed to display 'unity'.
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Kate Middleton, 42, made a return to royal engagements over the weekend when she attended King Charles III's official birthday parade, Trooping the Colour, alongside her husband Prince William and their three children; Prince George, Prince Charlotte and Prince Louis.
It was a big day for the Princess of Wales, marking her first official public outing since being diagnosed with cancer and starting chemotherapy treatment, which she said is still on-going.
To help support her through the event, King Charles appears to have broken royal protocol in order to be by Kate's side on the balcony of Buckingham Palace as they waved to the crowds and watched the Red Arrows' flypast.
It makes sense that Kate and her father-in-law would want to stay close during the balcony appearance, with the Monarch also going through his own cancer battle.
According to a former royal butler, the decision to have the King and the Princess of Wales stood next to one another was a decision made by the Monarch to show they are "united" in their similar health battles.
Speaking on behalf of Spin Genie, Grant Harrold said that royal protocol means that, while on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, the Prince and Princess of Wales would traditionally stand together while King Charles and Queen Camilla would do the same.
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He said: “It is planned but it is also changing the protocol to show the King and Kate united with each other and going through similar battles, so I would say this is down to the King’s preference."
Harrold added: "The balcony is all orchestrated but I have a feeling the King said to Kate ‘you stand next to me’."
It was confirmed on 6th February this year that King Charles had been diagnosed with cancer, and while the Palace did not reveal the type of cancer he has, they did confirm that he was beginning "a schedule of regular treatments".
Meanwhile, after months of speculation about the Princess of Wales, Kate announced her own cancer diagnosis in a video statement back in March following abdominal surgery at the beginning of the year.
Since this announcement, Kate has taken a step back from royal duties as she receives chemotherapy, and only recently broke her silence ahead of her return to public ahead of Trooping the Colour.
Kate said that while she is "not out of the woods yet" and that her treatment would be continuing, she is hoping to attend a number of events over the summer, depending on how the chemotherapy impacts her.
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