Princess Kate has enjoyed a rare public outing with her family as she continues preventative treatments for an unspecified type of cancer.
On Sunday, Aug. 25, Kate Middleton was spotted attending a service at Crathie Church alongside her husband, Prince William, and their son, Prince George, according to photographs recently obtained by The Daily Mail.
In the photographs, the Princess of Wales can be seen wearing a brown jacket and dark brown hat from Hicks & Brown, which was adorned with a feather and, according to The Daily Mail, was the same hat the royal wore last year for a similar Sunday church service.
According to the outlet, Prince William, Prince George and Princess Kate were joined by a slew of other senior royals, including King Charles, Queen Camilla, Prince Edward, Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh, and the pair's son, James Wessex
The Princess of Wales' outing marked the first time the mom-of-three has been spotted in public since she made a surprise appearance at this year's Wimbledon Championships.
While senior members of the royal family prepare to dive head-first into their full public-facing schedules—including Prince William, who is preparing to say goodbye to his summer vacation and visit public visit to the Homelessness: Reframed exhibit at the Saatchi Gallery in London—reports indicate that Princess Kate will not return to anything resembling a "normal" working royal schedule for an undetermined amount of time...if at all.
Initially, reports claimed that Middleton's return to a full schedule of royal duties would be "delayed" as she prioritizes her ongoing preventative cancer treatments.
At the time, and after speaking to some of Princess Kate's friends, The Daily Mail’s Richard Eden reported that the royal would not return until the fall, and "only then if she has recovered fully" due to the fact that a full recovery is continuing to "take priority." Other reports claimed Princess Kate wouldn't return to a full schedule until 2025.
Another insider recently told RadarOnline.com that Middleton "may never return" to her full-time role within the monarchy. The same source suggested that the Princess of Wales would "reevaluate" her role and the amount of duties she would resume following her cancer treatment.
Since appearing at Wimbledon alongside her daughter, Princess Charlotte, and her sister, Pippa Middleton Matthews, Princess Kate was reportedly planning to purposefully avoid the public eye for the foreseeable future.
"Before, she used to live her life by the calendar, and now she is living her life, and the calendar comes in after," Robert Jobson, author of the new book Catherine, the Princess of Wales: A Biography of the Future Queen, told People in an exclusive interview.
"She will be back, but when you have had an experience like this," he added, "it changes your perspective and the order of things."
