From the moment she wed Prince William, Kate Middleton committed herself to a life of royal service – taking on the mantle with pride as she quickly established herself as one of the most hard-working members of the monarchy. And in the years since, she’s barely paused for breath, only ever taking time off following the births of her three children.
This year, of course, has seen an enforced change of pace for the Princess of Wales, following her abdominal surgery in January and her subsequent cancer diagnosis. She’s since made a few triumphant forays into the spotlight, attending Trooping the Colour in June, appearing at the Wimbledon men’s singles final in July, and – last week – attending Crathie Kirk Church in Scotland alongside her husband. But, for the most part, this year has been rightfully focused on getting well, and insiders tell heat that, for the sake of herself and her children, Kate – who is still undergoing chemotherapy – has doubled down on her commitment to get stronger by doing her best to take a step back.
To that end, we’re also told that this summer has been a restorative time for the Prince and Princess, and their children – George, 11, Charlotte, nine, and Louis, six – but now, as a new school year approaches, sources say the 42 year old is feeling anxious to get back to work, as she continues her recovery, and is keen to dip her toes back into royal life, albeit in a gentle fashion.
However, there are other issues at play – as the Princess readies herself for a tentative return to public life, we’re told she’s feeling both wistful about the quality time she’s just enjoyed with her family, and also uneasy about the underlying tension emanating from California, where Prince Harry and Meghan live.
Insiders say that relations between the Sussexes and the royals are worse than ever and, although it’s been a while since the Duke and Duchess publicly lashed out against the Palace, there’s a persistent sense of foreboding that they will do so again, and all of that is adding to Kate’s roller-coaster of emotions.
"It’s a bittersweet time for Kate," says an insider close to the Princess – who has spent the majority of the summer with William and their kids on their private estate at Balmoral Castle, as well as at Anmer Hall, their home in Norfolk.
"She always gets emotional before the children go back to school, because it’s a new milestone for them and a reminder of how fast they’re growing up. But she’s also excited, because she’s feeling so much stronger and, with them at school, she’ll have a lot more time to focus on work again. Ideally, she’d like to get back to her old schedule, but it’s going to take time, and she’s being urged to take things slowly. She’s the type of person who is happiest when she’s busy, so William is being supportive – even if he’s wary about her jumping back in too quickly."
Officially, Kate is believed to be taking the rest of the year off from public life, but that hasn’t stopped her dipping her toes in behind the scenes. In May, her Royal Foundation Business Taskforce for Early Childhood unveiled a report which called on UK businesses to invest more in early childhood development – something she was said to be the ‘driving force’ behind. And, although she was in the middle of her chemo at the time, her spokesman confirmed just how involved she had been, saying she had ‘been kept fully updated’ from home.
Since then, insiders say Kate’s been slowly reengaging in royal life – attending online briefings, reading daily updates, and taking Zoom calls. Summer afforded her the chance to disengage with her family, but now that they’re getting back to regular life, she wants to do the same.
"Kate takes so much pride in connecting with people," says our source. "It’s one of the most rewarding parts of her royal duties. She really misses it and is hoping doctors will clear her to get back to that in the very near future. She won’t do anything without the green light from her medical team, and unfortunately – because chemotherapy weakens the immune system – public-facing work will take longer to resume. The rest of her summer will be mostly spent at Anmer Hall and Balmoral but, once the children are back at school, her goal is to make her work-life balance her focus again."
And while she’s determined to return on her own terms and in her own way, there’s one source of stress that neither Kate nor William are willing to re-engage with: Harry and Meghan. While the latter has been ostensibly respectful towards the royals over the past year, there’s still been some apparent antagonism, especially after Harry said in July that the UK was a ‘dangerous’ place for his wife and their children.
They’ve continued to embark on their unofficial quasi-royal tours, muddying the waters between their current position as private citizens and former state-sanctioned roles.
As heat has reported, Kate and William have taken steps to avoid all Sussex-related intel, putting ‘a self-imposed ban on anything Meghan and Harry related, as they take some much-needed respite and family time’.
But, with summer winding down, we’re told there’s growing unease about the fact that they won’t be able to ignore the Sussexes forever, especially with Kate’s return to public life.
In the meantime, sources say she’s taking one day at a time. As far as Kate’s concerned, she’s not letting anything – or anyone – get in the way of eking out these last few days of special time with her family. And, as soon as school starts, she’s raring to dive back into the duties she loves and misses.