UK royal Kate apologises for missing parade, hopes to be back 'very soon'

Kate, Britain's Princess of Wales, who is undergoing preventative chemotherapy for cancer, wrote to an army regiment to apologise for missing a military parade on Saturday, adding that she hoped to be back very soon.

"Being your Colonel remains a great honour, and I am very sorry that I'm unable (to) take the salute at this year's Colonel's Review," Kate wrote in a letter to the head of the Irish Guards regiment.

"Please pass my apologies to the whole Regiment. However, I do hope that I am able to represent you all once again very soon," she wrote in the letter, dated June 3 and posted on social media platform X on Saturday by the Irish Guards regiment.

The Irish Guards were deeply touched to receive a letter from our Colonel, Her Royal Highness, The Princess of Wales this morning.

We continue to wish Her Royal Highness well in her recovery and send Her our very best wishes.

Quis Separabit@KensingtonRoyal @ArmyInLondon pic.twitter.com/y95rbmaeOS

— Irish Guards (@irish_guards) June 8, 2024

Britain's Prince William, who is heir to the throne, said last month that Kate, his wife, was "doing well". She said in March, she was having treatment after cancer was found following abdominal surgery at the start of the year.

The Colonel's Review takes place a week before a higher-profile parade to mark the birthday of the monarch, part of the Trooping the Colour celebrations. Kate is a colonel of the Irish Guards, who are taking part in the event.