First official event confirmed for Princess of Wales since surgery

Catherine, Princess of Wales, will attend her father-in-law King Charles III’s birthday celebrations on June 8, her first official duty to be confirmed since undergoing surgery in January, the Ministry of Defence said Tuesday.

The British Army posted the engagement on its official website, saying Catherine, who is married to heir to the throne Prince William, will help review soldiers as part of the annual Trooping the Colour.

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Kate and William’s Kensington Palace office has not confirmed her appearance at the event.

Meanwhile the king, who is currently being treated for cancer, is scheduled to review troops at the Trooping the Colour main event on June 15, according to the army website.

Charles on Tuesday held an in-person audience with finance minister Jeremy Hunt ahead of the government’s official budget announcement on Wednesday.

The British head of state, dressed in a blue suit and a light tie, was photographed shaking hands with Hunt as he welcomed him at Buckingham Palace in central London.

Kate was on Monday spotted in public for the first time since she underwent abdominal surgery in mid-January, according to photos published by US outlet TMZ.

The 42-year-old princess has been recovering mainly at the home she shares with William and their three young children in Windsor, west of London, since leaving hospital on January 29.

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The photos published by TMZ showed Kate wearing sunglasses while being driven by her mother in a car, with the celebrity news site saying they were taken Monday near Windsor Castle.

The sighting comes as social media has been alight with conspiracy theories over the princess’s prolonged absence from the spotlight.

© Agence France-Presse