The military has backtracked on claims that the Princess of Wales will attend June’s Trooping the Color after accusations that officials “rushed through” without consulting the Palace.
Tickets had gone on sale through the army website which advertised Kate, 42, reviewing a “practice” parade for the first time on June 8 in her role as honorary colonel of the Irish Guards.
He also announced that Charles, 75, would review his own official birthday parade on June 15 at Horse Guards.
But within minutes of tickets going on sale, there were warnings that the MoD may have been “rushed”.
Kensington Palace sources made it clear they were “not consulted” about the MoD’s announcement and said any confirmed attendance by the princess would be made “solely” by themselves.
The Princess of Wales is seen during last year’s Trooping the Color on June 17 in London.
Kate, Prince William, Prince George, Prince Louis and Princess Charlotte looking to the sky during last year’s Trooping the Color event
Kate is seen in her last public appearance on Christmas Day before stepping away from the spotlight.
Buckingham Palace confirmed that planning for future engagements was continuing despite the King’s ongoing cancer treatment, but stressed that changes could be made closer to the time depending on his health.
He is doing a very limited number of in-person engagements and certainly not swimming with large crowds, on the advice of doctors.
The confusion has added to the sense of unease around the Royal Family, with two of its most senior members out of action for substantial periods.
Inside sources have said, given the profile of the occasions, that both the monarch and his daughter-in-law are likely to do everything in their power to attend.
Royal expert Phil Dampier said: “I am confident that the Princess of Wales will be well enough to attend Trooping the Color and Kensington Palace has said she is recovering well from abdominal surgery.”
“We’ll probably see it around Easter and then hopefully a lot of the wild rumors circulating online will calm down.” That said, it doesn’t help when there is confusion about ads like this.’
Kate is recovering from what has been described as “planned abdominal surgery” and is unlikely to return to duty until after Easter.
The MoD is said to have “jumped the gun” when the army released details of the event for Trooping the Colour.
The MoD said Trooping the Color will be “reviewed” by the Princess on June 8 this year.
Gary Goldsmith entered the Celebrity Big Brother house last night as a contestant
Her absence from public events and the scant details given about her condition and recovery have led to wild conspiracy theories on social media about what could be wrong with the princess.
On Monday, however, she was photographed by paparazzi while her mother, Carole Middleton, took her to Windsor, the first time she has been seen in public since Christmas Day.
The images were published on US gossip website TMZ, but not in the UK, where Kensington Palace has appealed for it to be recovered privately.
Trooping the Colour, the historic celebration of the Sovereign’s “official” birthday, is one of the most important events in the royal calendar, involving more than 1,400 soldiers from the Household Division and the King’s Royal Horse Artillery Troop .
Which regiment displays the color (in other words, which carries the regimental flag) varies each year, with the 2nd Battalion Irish Guards receiving that honor in 2024. In the run-up to the King’s Birthday parade carried out two reviews, one of which is the colonel’s parade.
Last year, Prince William handed over the position of honorary colonel of the Irish Guards to his wife, now Colonel Catherine, who would normally carry out the inspection himself.
The Ministry of Defense website has advertised tickets for the event, with the overview stating that Trooping the Color is “reviewed by HRH The Princess of Wales”.
They added: “For Trooping the Color reviewed by HRH The Princess of Wales, seated, standing and wheelchair tickets will be available to purchase from 4 March 2024.”
Meanwhile, King Charles and Queen Camilla will attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Samona later this year, and will then travel to Australia and New Zealand, as the Australian Prime Minister confirmed the other day.
“But both the King and Kate will follow the advice of their doctors and do not want them to be stressed about what will happen in several months’ time,” Mr Dampier said.
“If an announcement is made and then withdrawn, it only fuels conspiracy theories, so it is essential that all departments dealing with these events talk to each other.”
It comes as Kate’s uncle Gary Goldsmith slammed wild conspiracy theories about his niece’s health as she recovers from surgery.
Kate spent almost a fortnight at Marylebone’s London Clinic after undergoing abdominal surgery, but was discharged on January 29.
Goldsmith, who entered the Celebrity Big Brother house as a contestant last night, previously described his royal niece as “beautiful” and called allegations of racism against her “nonsense”.