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William and Kate will be celebrating their wedding anniversary “very differently” today as the Princess of Wales continues her cancer treatment, an expert has said.
Kate, who is undergoing chemotherapy for an undisclosed cancer, married future king William in 2011 after eight years of dating.
Speaking on their 13th wedding anniversary, royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams said: “This year will be very different from previous years as Catherine is undergoing preventative chemotherapy after recovering from abdominal surgery.”
Their anniversary comes one day before King Charles is set to return to work for the first time since announcing his own cancer diagnosis earlier this year.
Revealing that the King has made “progress” with his treatment, the palace revealed he would be making a public visit to a cancer treatment centre on Tuesday.
His public engagement will come just days before his son Prince Harry returns to the UK to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games next week.
The prince’s visit will be his first since he saw his father for 45 minutes in February and the first since his sister-in-law Kate revealed her cancer diagnosis.
Kate and William’s anniversary
The Princess of Wales admitted to going “bright red” the first time she spoke to Prince William in the hallway of a university dorm in 2001.
But she pushed past her self-confessed embarrassment to form a friendship with the then-third in line to the British throne.
This friendship turned romantic after the pair moved into a shared house together in 2002.
However, it was not until 2004 that the pair went public with their relationship and were photographed on a ski trip together in Switzerland.
A tabloid headline at the time read: “Finally… Wills gets a girl”.
While the pair briefly split in 2007, they soon reconciled that same year and dated for a further three years before William popped the question in Kenya in 2010.
Their wedding in April 2011 was watched by an estimated 163 million viewers.
The pair tied the knot at a packed Westminister Abbey service, which included famous faces like Sir Elton John and David Beckham.
Emma Guinness29 April 2024 11:58
This week’s royal events
Hello and welcome to The Independent’s royal blog as we provide you all the latest updates on a busy week for the royal family.
Events began today (29 April) with the Prince and Princess of Wales’s 13th wedding anniversary, which is set to be very different from previous celebrations because of Kate’s ongoing cancer treatment.
According to reports, the future king and queen are set to celebrate in “private”, but the couple’s anniversary is already being marked on social media by wellwishers.
Today’s events will be followed tomorrow by King Charles’s anticipated return to duty following the revelation on Friday (26 April) that he has made significant progress with his own cancer treatment.
He is set to visit a cancer treatment centre with the Queen Consort to mark his poignant return to work following news of his illness in February.
All the while the family are preparing for Prince Harry’s return to the UK next week to attend a ceremony celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games.
Emma Guinness29 April 2024 11:56
James Parker is a UK-based entertainment aficionado who delves into the glitz and glamour of the entertainment industry. From Hollywood to the West End, he offers readers an insider’s perspective on the world of movies, music, and pop culture.
