Princess Kate made a surprise return today, joining Prince William in Southport, visiting privately with family members of the three young girls who were killed this past summer and also meeting with first responders. 

 

It had not been announced ahead of time that Kate would be there, which makes sense because it would have inevitably turned into a circus which obviously would have been totally inappropriate and insensitive. 

 

This is Kate’s first official public engagement since she announced that she’d completed cancer treatment and said that she’d be taking it day by day with the palace keeping expectations in check about what her schedule would look like. Today’s appearance though is a major boost for the royals, seeing as she’s well enough to be on duty and ahead of a period that is typically busy for the institution. Remembrance services will be talking place in a month and there is always a royal presence at that time of year. There’s been no indication whatsoever that Kate will be participating but this does raise the possibility. 

 

And, of course, from there it’ll be the holiday season which is notable because since 2021, Kate’s hosted the Royal Carols: Together at Christmas event. In 2023, Kate was seen at Christmas with the other royals before the announcement in January that she was stepping back to deal with health concerns. Up until recently it was uncertain whether or not it would happen this year. But she had a meeting in late September to begin planning for this year’s version. The show will be pre-taped and will air in the UK on Christmas Eve. So the concert is on, she’s expected to be there, and it’ll be a nice bookend to the year.