Kate Middleton 'won't return' to same royal role amid cancer

Prince William and Kate Middleton are surely now looking forward to a year full of possibilities. The Prince and Princess of Wales had a trying time of things in 2024, what with Kate’s cancer diagnosis, treatment, and recovery. And of course, it’s not just them but also their children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis, who have been significantly affected by what has happened.

William and Kate prioritized family life during last year’s trials and tribulations, with the future king branding 2024 “dreadful.” George, Charlotte, and Louis will always come in firsthand for the couple, and heading into 2025, that will continue to be the case.

Now, royal correspondent Rebecca English has shared a bombshell report that states Kate Middleton will return to royal duties, but not on the same scale as prior to her cancer diagnosis.

Put simply, the Princess of Wales’s life as a senior member of the Royal Family will not be the same.

Kate Middleton’s cancer diagnosis left the world in shock. The Princess of Wales announced the news last year in early March, and what followed was a long period of uncertainty for her, her family, and royal fans worldwide. No one knew when Kate would return to the public eye, but in June, she finally made her comeback as she appeared during Trooping the Colour.

While the princess was seen waiving and smiling and seemingly doing great at the time, royal expert Katie Nicholl claimed she wasn’t doing as well as she might have looked. The royal expert added that the future queen sat down as much as she could, though not in front of the public.

“The princess has this sort of swan-like quality about her — she’s sort of gliding on the surface — but beneath the water, I think often she’s paddling quite frantically,” Nicholl told ET Online in June last year. “I can only imagine that a huge amount of preparation and time and effort and energy will have gone into Saturday’s appearance.”

“She was on her feet for a long period of time. There was a moment where she was watching the parade… and was offered a seat, which she gratefully accepted. That’s just a bit of an acknowledgment that she is not as strong, not as fit, as she was before she went into this treatment.”

Prince William & Kate Middleton to continue prioritizing their children

Now, a year after Kate Middleton first disappeared from the public eye in January 2024, things are looking much brighter. Last fall, she delivered the fantastic news that she was cancer-free, though she has continued to – wisely – take things slow.

For she and her husband, Prince William, the wellbeing of their children has always been the priority, regardless of their essential role within the Royal Family. The couple has ever made sure to shield their children from negativity during Kate’s cancer treatment and recovery. Although their children are royal and their eldest, Prince George, will one day be king, William and Kate want to give their brood as normal a childhood as possible.

Speaking to Hello Magazine, royal expert Ingrid Seward said that the Prince and Princess of Wales are well aware of how things can change quickly in the modern age of social media and the internet.

“Like many famous parents, they are cautious about exposing the children to too much scrutiny in this digital age,” Seward said. “They know they must produce the children at certain times, but I think they very much keep them under wraps the rest of the time.”

Steward added that compared to the royal children of previous generations, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis have a “more more ordinary and informal life” as they are “not surrounded by nannies and staff.” Although the children are known to have a nanny, Maria Borallo, who’s been with William and Kate since 2014, the royal expert said that the kids are “very much with their parents.”

“It’s very frightening for children”

Speaking on their sibling dynamic, Seward stated: “The three of them seem to get on incredibly well. They’re close in age, they all enjoy sports, they’re bound by the situation they’re in and they’re all in it together. And I think that makes them all closer.”

As mentioned, 2024 has been a very challenging year for the Royal Family, and Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis have all lived in uncertainty, possibly not knowing exactly how their mother has been doing or even what cancer really is. Therefore, Seward claimed that William and Kate will be sure to treat their children to some extra special surprises in 2025.

“Kate will be wanting to spoil them a bit, because it’s very frightening for children when their parents are that ill, so I think they will be up for a few treats this year,” she told Hello! Magazine. “I think William and Kate might take the children skiing during the Easter holidays and will probably be planning a big summer holiday, because as far as we know they didn’t go anywhere last year.”

Though William and Kate want a more normal life for their children, royal life will understandably always catch up with them. As senior members of the Royal Family, the couple has a huge responsibility.

“Kate knows there is a looming, massive responsibility coming, but she can’t do anything about that, so she just needs to make sure that the family she’s bringing up are able to deal with it,” Seward said.

Kate Middleton “keen to prioritise her family even more”

“It must have been very difficult for her to deal with her family and her illness at the same time, and she obviously realises that the children have been through a hard time too.”

The royal expert continued: “I think the illness has made her keen to prioritise her family even more, because they are the future. Obviously, she wants to support her husband and the monarchy, but she’s going to make sure that she does it in such a way that it doesn’t take her away from the family too much. “

“She is very embedded in the future now, and the things that are really important in life, like her children and her charity work, really resonate and become even more important. Being so ill teaches you to enjoy each day as it comes, so I think she has a new appreciation of What’s going on around her, and what she can do to make life better for other people as well.”

Exactly how, when, and how Kate Middleton will increase her royal duties in the coming months is unknown. Whether she and William will venture overseas together is still to be seen, but no matter what, the turbulent time that has passed has given them a whole new perspective on life – which could affect Kate’s life moving forward.

In a column for the Daily Mail, royal correspondent Rbbeca English cited sources that claimed William and Kate have gotten a whole new outlook on life, adding that the “trauma” has “changed” the Princess of Wales as a person.

Kate Middleton to ‘prioritize children over royal duties,’ source claims

Moreover, one source made the bombshell claim that Kate simply won’t take on the same schedule as she did pre-diagnosis.

“There is no huge reset button that’s going to be hit in January,” the insiders shared. “What we will actually see is a slow continuation of the princess balancing her recovery and her public-facing duties.”

“Cancer impacts on your perspective, and what you have seen in the decisions they have made over the last year is that family and their children continue to be at the center of their universe,” another source told English. “Both Their Royal Highnesses have a strong commitment to duty, service and using their platform for good. But what they are working on is ways they can balance themselves as parents with being the Prince and Princess of Wales.”

Rebecca English added that Kate has “no plans—yet—for any full-scale foreign royal tour.” However, the princess “may join her husband on one short trip, should she feel up to it.”

At the same time, William is set to continue his royal duties as before, possibly even taking on more engagements as his father, King Charles, continues his own cancer treatment. While he might travel abroad solo on shorter visits, the fact that he won’t do longer journeys abroad is “another sign of Catherine’s progress.”

“She’s looking forward to the future with hope and a new appreciation of life”

“Everyone is adjusting the dial,” a source said, which English has interpreted to mean “the Waleses will strive to not be away from home extensively,” she wrote in the Daily Mail.

“As Catherine herself said, she’s looking forward to the future with hope and a new appreciation of life,” a close friend of Kate Middleton said. “She has also had little choice but to take a step back and focus on herself, which inevitably has led her to reassess where their priorities lie.”

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