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Kate, Princess of Wales, Waves to Crowds in First Public Appearance Since Cancer Diagnosis

Britain's Catherine, Princess of Wales attends the Trooping the Colour parade to honour Britain's King Charles on his official birthday in London, Britain, June 15, 2024. REUTERS/Hollie Adams Purchase Licensing Rights
Britain's Catherine, Princess of Wales attends the Trooping the Colour parade to honour Britain's King Charles on his official birthday in London, Britain, June 15, 2024. REUTERS/Hollie Adams Purchase Licensing Rights
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Kate, Princess of Wales, Waves to Crowds in First Public Appearance Since Cancer Diagnosis

Britain's Catherine, Princess of Wales attends the Trooping the Colour parade to honour Britain's King Charles on his official birthday in London, Britain, June 15, 2024. REUTERS/Hollie Adams Purchase Licensing Rights
Britain's Catherine, Princess of Wales attends the Trooping the Colour parade to honour Britain's King Charles on his official birthday in London, Britain, June 15, 2024. REUTERS/Hollie Adams Purchase Licensing Rights

Kate, Britain's Princess of Wales, waved to crowds and smiled broadly from the balcony of Buckingham Palace after watching a military parade on Saturday, making her first public appearance this year as she undergoes treatment for cancer.

The princess, 42, spent two weeks in hospital in January after she underwent major abdominal surgery. Two months later she announced in a video message that tests had revealed the presence of cancer and she was receiving preventative chemotherapy.

She is still undergoing treatment, but her improved health meant she was able to appear in public for the first time since December, according to Reuters. 

The princess rode in a covered carriage with her three children to watch the "Trooping the Colour", an annual military parade to mark the official birthday of the British monarch, King Charles.

Despite heavy rain showers, crowds lined the streets and waved and cheered as the carriage went past, outnumbering a small group of protesters holding placards calling for an end to the monarchy.

Charles rode in a separate carriage with Queen Camilla, followed by Prince William, Charles' heir and Kate's husband, who was on horseback along with other senior members of the royal family.

Kate, wearing a pale outfit decorated with a white and navy ribbon by British fashion designer Jenny Packham and a broad-brimmed matching hat by Irish milliner Philip Treacy, watched the ceremony from a window overlooking the parade ground.

She pointed out aspects of the event to her children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, while Charles saluted passing troops from a covered dais on the parade ground itself.

The king and queen, as well as William, Kate and other members of the royal family later returned to Buckingham Palace to watch a military flypast from the balcony. Kate smiled broadly and waved.

In a rare personal written message on Friday, she said she was making good progress but was "not out of the woods". She said she was looking forward to attending Saturday's parade and hoped to join a few public engagements over the summer.

Kate's office, Kensington Palace, has declined to give any details about the type of cancer or about her treatment, other than to say the preventative chemotherapy had begun in February.

Before the parade, onlookers said they were looking forward to seeing the princess.

"I know it's the king's birthday, but all eyes will be on Kate because we haven't seen her for a while," said John Loughrey, who was wearing a T-shirt with pictures of Kate on it.

Another onlooker, Anne Gaely, who was carrying a life-size cardboard cutout of the princess, said she was relieved that Kate would be there in the flesh.

"We've all been very, very worried and uneasy about it, but now this is going to be joyful, euphoric and fabulous," she said.

In her message on Friday, Kate said she had been "blown away" by thousands of kind messages from across the globe, which had made a world of difference to her and William.

"I am making good progress, but as anyone going through chemotherapy will know, there are good days and bad days," Kate's statement said.

Her illness has coincided with that of Charles, 75, who has also been undergoing treatment for cancer. He returned to public duties in April, and has remained busy, although his diary commitments are being limited to minimise risks to his recovery.

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Varieties

List of Threatened Species Grows by 1,000, but Conservation Efforts Bring Hope for Some Animals 

Two pygmy elephants cross the road in Taliwas forest on Malaysia's Sabah state on Borneo Island, July 21, 2005. (AP) 
Two pygmy elephants cross the road in Taliwas forest on Malaysia's Sabah state on Borneo Island, July 21, 2005. (AP) 
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List of Threatened Species Grows by 1,000, but Conservation Efforts Bring Hope for Some Animals 

Two pygmy elephants cross the road in Taliwas forest on Malaysia's Sabah state on Borneo Island, July 21, 2005. (AP) 
Two pygmy elephants cross the road in Taliwas forest on Malaysia's Sabah state on Borneo Island, July 21, 2005. (AP) 

Over 45,000 species are now threatened with extinction — 1,000 more than last year — according to an international conservation organization that blames pressures from climate change, invasive species and human activity such as illicit trade and infrastructural expansion.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature released its latest Red List of Threatened Species on Thursday. Now in its 60th year, the list sounds the alarm about animals and plants at risk of extinction, but it also highlights conservation success stories such as the Iberian lynx.

The list now includes 163,040 species, an increase of about 6,000 from last year. Copiapoa cacti, native to Chile’s Atacama coastal desert, the Bornean elephant and the Gran Canaria giant lizard are among the threatened species, IUCN revealed.

Social media trend among extinction drivers Copiapoa cacti have long been coveted as decorative plants, driving an illegal trade that has been amplified by social media where enthusiasts and traders showcase and sell the cacti.

A staggering 82% of the species is now at risk of extinction, a significant jump from 55% in 2013, the report said.

IUCN said that the decline is due to the surge in demand for the Chilean cacti in Europe and Asia as ornamental species. The smugglers and poachers facilitating the trade, the organization said, have gained increased accessibility to the plants’ habitat due to roads and housing expansion in the Atacama area.

"It is easy to distinguish if copiapoa cacti have been poached or grown in a greenhouse," said Pablo Guerrero, a member of the IUCN's group on the plants. "Poached copiapoa have a grey tone and are coated in a dusty-looking bloom that protects the plants in one of the driest deserts on Earth, whereas cultivated plants appear greener."

The 2024 update also highlights the Asian elephant in Borneo as an endangered species. It is estimated that only about 1,000 Bornean elephants remain in the wild, according to IUCN analysis.

The population has decreased over the past 75 years primarily due to extensive logging of Borneo’s forests, destroying much of the elephants’ habitat. Conflicts with humans, habitat loss due to agriculture and timber plantations, mining and infrastructure development, poaching, exposure to agrochemicals, and vehicle collisions also threaten the species, the IUCN said.

The list also revealed the "staggering" decline of endemic reptiles — the giant lizard and skink — on the Canary Islands and Ibiza due to predation by the invasive snakes.

One species' "greatest recovery" In a contrasting tale, conservation efforts have revived the Iberian lynx from the brink of extinction, with the population increasing from 62 mature individuals in 2001 to 648 in 2022 and more than 2,000 now.

Once considered one of the most endangered wild cat species in the world, their population declined by 87% and the number of breeding females dropped by more than 90% between 1985 and 2001, according to Canada-based International Society for Endangered Cats.

The species was revived by restoring the Iberian lynx’s natural Mediterranean scrub and forest habitat as well as increasing the abundance of its primary prey, the European rabbit. Conservation efforts have also involved increasing the lynx’s genetic diversity by relocating them to new areas and breeding them in controlled environments.

Since 2010, more than 400 Iberian lynxes have been reintroduced to parts of Portugal and Spain, IUCN said.

It is "the greatest recovery of a cat species ever achieved through conservation," said Francisco Javier Salcedo Ortiz, who led the conservation action for the Iberian lynx.

But with threats remaining, mainly from fluctuations of their prey's population, poaching and road kills, Salcedo Ortiz said "there is still a lot of work to do to ensure that Iberian lynx populations survive."