Princess Kate Middleton joined Prince William, their kids and more members of the royal family on their annual walk to Christmas Day church service in Sandringham.
The royals have a longstanding tradition of enjoying an annual family stroll to St Mary Magdalene Church near Sandringham House on Christmas Day, and they carried on with the custom on Wednesday, December 25, despite the family’s recent hardships.
Kate, 42, decked out in a festive green coat and matching hat, and William, also 42, walked alongside their children: Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, 9, and Prince Louis, 6. King Charles and Queen Camilla led the royal family’s Christmas Day walk while greeting well-wishers, with pregnant Princess Beatrice joining the event with husband Edoardo Mappelli Mozzi and his son Christopher, 8.
The outing comes nearly one year after Buckingham Palace revealed Charles, 76, and Kate’s, 42, respective health issues. Both of the royals were hospitalized in January — Charles underwent a “corrective procedure” for a benign prostate enlargement and Kate had a “planned” abdominal surgery.
Charles reflected on the royal family’s challenging year during his annual speech on Wednesday.
“I am speaking to you today from the Chapel of the former Middlesex Hospital in London – now itself a vibrant Community space – and thinking especially of the many thousands of professionals and volunteers here in the United Kingdom and across the Commonwealth who, with their skills and out of the goodness of their heart, care for others – often at some cost to themselves,” he said. “From a personal point of view, I offer special, heartfelt thanks to the selfless doctors and nurses who, this year, have supported me and other members of my family through the uncertainties and anxieties of illness, and have helped provide the strength, care and comfort we have needed.”
Charles continued: “I am deeply grateful, too, to all those who have offered us their own kind words of sympathy and encouragement. … All of us go through some form of suffering at some stage in our life, be it mental or physical. The degree to which we help one another — and draw support from each other, be we people of Faith or of none — is a measure of our civilization as Nations. This is what continually impresses me, as my family and I meet with, and listen to, those who dedicate their lives to helping others.”
In February, Buckingham Palace confirmed that Charles was diagnosed with cancer during his hospital stay the previous month, though the type and stage has remained private. As a result, he “commenced a schedule of regular treatments” and postponed his public duties for the time being. Charles eventually stepped back into his public role in April as he continued to receive treatments.
As for Kate, in March — and after months of online speculation and conspiracy theories — she announced she had been diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer and was in the “early stages” of “preventive chemotherapy” treatments. She added at the time that the news came as a “huge shock,” noting that she and William had “been doing everything we can to process and manage this privately for the sake of our young family.”
Kate subsequently confirmed in September that she had completed treatment, emphasizing that the “last nine months” had been “incredibly tough for us as a family.” She shared that she was doing everything she could “to stay cancer free,” although her “path to healing and full recovery” was still “long.”
Later that month, Kate returned to her public-facing royal duties for the first time since her health scare.
Keep scrolling for photos of the entire royal family from their traditional walk to St. Mary Magdalene Church: