With a dash of Disney princess – Kate has become a bellwether for uncertain times

The prospect of Trooping the Colour without royalty’s star turn felt a bit like Britain’s sun-free summer. Flat. But with impeccable timing, accompanied by a photograph of the Princess of Wales in “the woods” (she’s not out of them yet), Kate rallied for the monarchy’s flagship event. Despite her cautious words, the princess clearly felt strong enough to bank on the King’s birthday parade being a “good day” rather than a “bad” one.

And sure enough, with a hallmark mix of duty and distance we were privy to a delightful dash of Disney princess. Heavy rain and hearty cheer accompanied Kate’s carriage as it swept down the mall. Foregoing the military parade for a seat in the Major-General’s Office, she then managed a glow-up moment on a briefly sunlit balcony, flanked by her immaculate brood. Storm clouds gathered, dissenters flew yellow flags, but he Firm pulled off a united front.

Although Saturday was the King’s official birthday, all eyes were on Kate. Royalty loves precision planning and the princess’s Jenny Packham white dress with black ribbon trim and regimental brooch was very much in keeping with her thought-through, elegant style. She may be under the weather but standards have not slipped. Irrespective of the unseasonal temperatures, thermals were never an option.

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It feels like a long time ago when Hilary Mantel derided the princess for her “perfect plastic smile”, citing the “spindles of her limbs, hand-turned and gloss varnished”. These days Kate’s smile is brave and her “spindles” doing their best. The “big C” has crept under the Windsors’ door; the ailing King opted to take the military salute in a carriage. Meanwhile, Kate didn’t confirm her appearance until Friday evening.

Kate’s absence at royal events since Christmas speaks to the physically demanding nature of her job. Looking good on command, whatever the weather, in front of an international audience time and again is not for the faint-hearted. Mantel may have pooh-poohed royalty’s “jointed doll upon which certain rags are hung” but the Princess of Wales’s considerable superpower sits in her capacity to meld diplomatic grace with exquisite sartorial style.

Designer suits have long been nipped and tucked to enhance Kate’s neat waist, the late queen was apparently a fan of the princess’s meticulously maintained chocolate locks, hers is a look that has been years in the making. Then along came cancer with its brutal treatments and “uncertainty” that Kate referenced on Friday. Telling of that uncertainty was the MoD’s rapid retraction of a statement that committed the princess to Trooping the Colour in March. Back then it was too hard to call. That Kate took the plunge this weekend is a sign of real progress, and to do so in a figure-hugging dress, a reminder that she has no intention of lowering her standards.

Curmudgeons will tut that the princess has the very best treatment and exceptional care. No waiting lists for Kate. But how many of us are subjected to the world’s gaze mid-way through a health crisis? Anybody derailed by a shock diagnosis knows recovery is unpredictable but it would be disingenuous to suggest that the Princess of Wales is run-of-the-mill.

As the unprecedented level of speculation earlier this year regarding her welfare and whereabouts proved, Kate is a global brand, more importantly, she is Britain’s global brand. For those among us who bob along feeling relatively apathetic about monarchy, it is moments like Saturday’s Trooping that help reassert the relevance of our first family. If Kate has become a bellwether for uncertain times, her capacity to rally is heartening.

More generally, Trooping the Colour, with its rooted permanence in the royal calendar, is a benchmark against which the welfare of the family can be judged. This year the Republican presence was unusually vocal and visual. After criticism for their heavy-handed response during the coronation, the police have got the memo, but growing dissent leaves no room for royal complacency.

In the longer term, the hereditary brand is up against it, so the Windsors know they have to make the effort, come what may. That is very much the royal form we have come to expect. Back in 1981, just two years after Earl Louis Mountbatten was killed by the IRA, the Queen, on favourite horse Burmese, came under fire when proceeding down the Mall. She reigned in her steed and the parade continued. Thankfully the bullets were blank.

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Almost 40 years later, frail, and months from her own death, Elizabeth managed to give us a wave from the balcony for the platinum jubilee’s Trooping the Colour. It was a bittersweet moment few will forget. Our monarch was loved for making the effort against the odds. Likewise, Kate, who shares Elizabeth’s commitment to service, has never missed a major royal ceremony, and Saturday’s turn was a case in point.

In Friday’s statement the Princess of Wales talked of needing “patience” to manage cancer’s unpredictably. Buried in this message was a reveal about the pressure she feels to perform in public. Had Kate not attended Trooping, the rumour mill would have tripped into overdrive once more, spitting out bile and false diagnoses, hounding a woman managing her own health crisis, while cross-referencing the Sussexes and speculating about the future of a hollowed-out royal family.

Kate also thanked well-wishers for their kind words of support, but speculation earlier this year regarding her health took royal trolling to new dark corners. The obsessive levels of scrutiny spilt over into the mainstream media in a frenzy that only Kate’s cancer announcement could quell.

The furore her brief appearance triggered on Saturday is a reminder of the national uptick when things go well for royalty, but as a country, history tells us we are all too prone to tripping into unbalanced, stalker-style terrain when it comes to the Windsors.

As Kate gently reminded us, she is not out of the woods yet. There are good days and bad days, cancer’s hold can be long and uncertain. She will stay the course and work out the best way forward for both her, her family and her role as the Princess of Wales. Here’s hoping we have the patience to do likewise.

Tessa Dunlop is the author of ‘Elizabeth and Philip: A Story of Young Love, Marriage and Monarchy’