Princess Kate conducted her first traditional royal visit of 2024 with a trip to Southport to meet the families of three girls killed in a knife attack.
Kate and Prince William visited the town in the north of England where the deaths of Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, sparked subsequent protests and rioting about immigration.
It is a major moment for the princess who has been absent from public life after surgery and a cancer diagnosis for most of 2024.
Kate Middleton is seen at Wimbledon Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 14, 2024 in London, England. She visited Southport, in the North of England, on Thursday.
Karwai Tang/WireImage
She conducted her first appearance at Trooping the Color, the king’s birthday parade, in June, and attended the final of Wimbledon tennis tournament in July but this is her first traditional royal visit of the kind she previously conducted week in week out.
Meanwhile, Sarah Ferguson, Prince Andrew‘s ex-wife, went on British TV to give an insight into how she is prioritizing self care.
A Kensington Palace statement read: “Today, The Prince and Princess of Wales visited Southport to show support to the community and hear how local people have come together as the town recovers from the tragic knife attack that took place on 29th July 2024.
“During the visit, Their Royal Highnesses met with the fire, ambulance, air ambulance and police services at the Southport Community Centre. The Prince and Princess heard about their experiences of responding to the attack and the impact it has had on their mental health.”
“In Southport,” the statement continued, “Their Royal Highnesses also met privately with the families of the three children who tragically lost their lives and a dance teacher who was present when the attack happened.”
Sarah Ferguson has herself been diagnosed with cancer twice in recent years and was on This Morning discussing her children’s book Flora and Fern: Wonder in the Woods.
And she was asked about Kate’s cancer recovery one month on from the princess’ last major update, announcing the end of her chemotherapy.
Ben Sheppard, the presenter, said: “I think the other thing Sarah that has been really tangible is seeing Princess Kate going through what she’s going through and seeing her being so public, and the King of course.”
Ferguson took the opportunity to praise a video Kate released on September 9 announcing the end of her chemotherapy: “The video that the Princess did was just incredible, I mean, I was so moved.”
She was then asked how Kate’s recovery is going and said: “She’s just showing the world what it is to really look after yourself and self love in order to help others, I think that’s extraordinary what she’s doing.”
Ferguson’s words give an insight into Kate’s attitude to her work life balance at a point when she has been under pressure to return to work full time.
The princess had abdominal surgery in January for an undisclosed medical issue that was not initially thought to be cancerous.
Further tests showed the initial diagnosis was wrong and cancer had in fact been present, with Kate beginning chemotherapy in late February.
However, the palace did not initially make the dramatic shift in the health public, even as wild speculation began to grow on social media with a trend for asking “Where is Kate Middleton?”
Conspiracy theories, gossip and allegations of a palace cover up became so feverish that Kate was in March bounced into announcing she had secretly been treated for cancer.
That dispelled much of the speculation but the palace has still on high alert for signs the trend could return.
Meanwhile, Kate conducted her first public visit of 2024 in June for Trooping the Color and attended the men’s singles final of Wimbledon in July.
In September she released her chemotherapy announcement video while in October Kensington Palace released pictures of her meeting a teenage photographer with an aggressive form of cancer.
While Kate is no longer receiving chemotherapy she has also not returned to work in full, choosing instead to do much of her work from home, meaning questions still loom over when she might be back full time.
Ferguson’s references to the princess prioritizing self care are therefore interesting in that they give a sense of the royal family’s perspective on Kate’s continued absence.
For now, the British public appears to be willing to accommodate Kate’s desire to remain on scaled down duties.
And Kate will likely be back in public again for Remembrance in November and her Christmas carol concert in December.
Jack Royston is Newsweek‘s chief royal correspondent based in London. You can find him on X, formerly Twitter, at @jack_royston and read his stories on Newsweek’s The Royals Facebook page.
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