Kate Middleton Misses Husband Prince William's Charity Polo Match

Princess Kate Middleton did not join her husband, Prince William, at the annual Royal Charity Polo Cup.

William, 43, played in the charity tournament at the Guards Polo Club in Windsor, England, on Friday, July 11. The event helps raise funds for several charities and causes that William and Kate, also 43, frequently support.

Kate last attended the tournament in 2023, skipping the match the next year amid her cancer battle. The Princess of Wales was diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer in early 2024, undergoing a round of chemotherapy treatment.

Kate revealed in January that she was in remission as she slowly returned to public duties. She recently joined William at the Tuesday, July 8, state banquet in honor of French president Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte Macron.

Kate Middleton Is Returning to Royal Duties on ‘Her Own Terms’

Kate looked elegant on Tuesday, wearing a red Givenchy dress with a billowing cape and the historic Queen Mary’s Lover’s Knot tiara.

Ahead of the state dinner, Kate skipped her planned appearance at the Royal Ascot the month before.

Prince William plays in the Outsourcing Inc Royal Charity Polo Cup on Friday, July 11. Chris Jackson/Getty Images for Outsourcing Inc Royal Charity Polo Cup Cup

“You put on a sort of brave face, stoicism through treatment. Treatment’s done, then it’s like, ‘I can crack on, get back to normal,’ but actually, the phase afterwards is really, really difficult,” she later said during a July 2 appearance at Colchester Hospital in Essex. “You’re not necessarily under the clinical team any longer, but you’re not able to function normally at home as you perhaps once used to.”

She added, “Someone to help talk you through that, show you and guide you through that sort of phase that comes after treatment, I think is really valuable. It’s a roller-coaster. It’s not smooth, like you expect it to be, but the reality is you go through hard times.”

According to Kate, finding a “new normal” has taken time after battling cancer.

Kate Middleton’s Cancer Battle Timeline: From Diagnosis to Remission

Throughout Kate’s health scare, she had William and their three children — Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, 6 — by her side.

“The last nine months have been incredibly tough for us as a family. Life as you know it can change in an instant, and we have had to find a way to navigate the stormy waters and road unknown,” the princess said in a September 2024 statement. “This time has above all reminded William and me to reflect and be grateful for the simple yet important things in life, which so many of us often take for granted. Of simply loving and being loved.”