Army removes claim that Kate will attend Trooping the Colour as part of comeback to royal duties
5 March 2024, 21:17 | Updated: 6 March 2024, 00:21
The army has removed a claim that the Princess of Wales will lead the Trooping the Colour event in June after she has returned to royal duties following abdominal surgery.
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The Ministry of Defence announced earlier on its website that Kate would lead the major royal event, which will take place on Saturday, June 8.
The announcement was made because of Kate's role as Colonel of the Irish Guards, which is the regiment trooping its colour this year.
But Kensington Palace did not confirm that the princess would be taking part, and the army did not ask royal officials for approval before publishing the notice.
Kate is continuing with her recovery after she had abdominal surgery at the start of the year, and is not expected to return to full royal duties until after Easter.
Later on Tuesday the army updated the event description to remove references to Kate.
The original Ministry of Defence description read: "Trooping the Colour reviewed by Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales is identical to Trooping the Colour reviewed by His Majesty The King, with the exception that some additional mounted officers ride when His Majesty The King is present.
"Taking part will be over 1400 soldiers of the Household Division and The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery, including 400 musicians from the Massed Bands, all of whom will parade on Horse Guards for the second of two formal Reviews."
"Trooping the Colour reviewed by Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales also includes 250 soldiers from the Foot Guards who will line the processional route along The Mall," the description continues.
"The soldiers will be inspected by Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales, Colonel Irish Guards."
It comes after Kate was seen with her mother Carole Middleton, driving near Windsor Castle, for the first time since her January surgery.
The Princess sat behind the wheel of a black Audi while Kate sat in the passenger seat, wearing dark sunglasses.
The photos were published by a US gossip website and have not been reproduced by news outlets in the UK. The photo is understood to have been taken by unauthorised paparazzi.
Kensington Palace was forced to double down on its statement after Kate's surgery, which said they would only be providing major updates.
It follows a series of conspiracy theories appearing online about why the princess had not been seen in public for so long.
This was also fuelled when Kensington Palace announced on short notice that Prince William would be dropping out of an event due to a "personal matter".
Following the speculation, a spokesperson for Kate has maintained the princess is “doing well”.
Her spokesperson told People on Thursday: “We were very clear from the outset that the Princess of Wales was out until after Easter and Kensington Palace would only be providing updates when something was significant.”
