Kate Middleton Rewears a Meaningful Outfit for Surprise Public Appearance After Royal Ascot No-Show

The blazer the Princess of Wales chose to wear on July 2 was loaded with symbolism.

The Gist

• Kate Middleton undertook a surprise engagement at Colchester Hospital in Essex on July 2—her first public appearance after her unexpected Royal Ascot absence on June 18.
• At the visit, the Princess of Wales shared some of her most personal comments yet about cancer treatment and its aftermath.
• The mocha blazer she wore to the occasion also held an especially poignant meaning.

In her first public appearance since her June 18 absence from Royal Ascot, Kate Middleton shared some of her most candid comments yet about her “life-changing” cancer treatment while on a surprise engagement on July 2.

The Princess of Wales visited Colchester Hospital in Essex, where she said (per the BBC) that during cancer treatment “you put on a sort of brave face,” but afterwards it can feel “really difficult.” (Kate was diagnosed with cancer in early 2024 following major abdominal surgery, a diagnosis she announced to the world on March 22 of last year. She completed chemotherapy treatment last September, and shared in January of this year that she is in remission. The type and stage of her cancer remains unknown to the public.)

Of life after treatment, she added, “You’re not able to function normally at home as you perhaps once used to.” She also discussed having “stoicism through treatment” but after the “treatment’s done—then it’s like, ‘I can crack on, get back to normal.’ But actually, the phase afterwards is really difficult—you’re not necessarily under the clinical team any longer, but you’re not able to function normally at home as you perhaps once used to.”

“It is [a] life-changing experience, both for the patient, but also for the families, as well,” she continued. “And actually, it sometimes goes unrecognized. You don’t necessarily—particularly when it’s the first time—appreciate how much impact it is going to have. You have to find your new normal, and that takes time—and it’s a rollercoaster. It’s not one smooth plane, which you expect it to be. But the reality is, it’s not—you go through hard times.”

The future queen’s comments seem a direct response to questions raised about her sudden Ascot absence last month, when she pulled out of a joint appearance alongside her husband Prince William. While at her engagement on Wednesday, Kate visited a “well-being garden,” where she poignantly planted “Catherine’s Rose”—a flower named in her honor—in the garden meant to support patients in their recovery.

Per The Telegraph, Kensington Palace said Kate was there to “celebrate the incredible healing power of nature and raise awareness of the important role that spending time in nature plays in bringing us joy and supporting our mental, physical, and spiritual well-being.”

Kate’s choice of outfit was particularly poignant—she wore the same mocha Blazé Milano blazer that she chose to wear in a June 14, 2024 photograph announcing that she would be attending Trooping the Colour the next day. In the famous photo, Kate stands against a tree and wrote in the caption that accompanied it that, while she was “making good progress” with her treatment, she wasn’t “out of the woods yet.”

For her appearance Wednesday, underneath her blazer Kate wore a striped Ralph Lauren button down and brought out her iconic sapphire and diamond engagement ring, given to her by William in 2010 and once belonging to her late mother-in-law, Princess Diana, whose 64th birthday was on July 1.