Katherine, Princess of Wales, faced a challenging and transformative year in 2024, largely spent recovering from an undisclosed form of cancer. Now, as 2025 approaches, her plans for the year are coming into focus, and they reportedly won't include the high-profile royal duties the public might expect. You read that right—while the palace has made it clear that the princess will return to public life, her role in 2025 won't be quite what many hoped for.
Back in December 2023, Princess Catherine was glowing with success after her annual Carol’s concert, a beloved event where she broke traditions by involving children and animals. However, just weeks later, the royal family would be thrown into a grueling year that tested their strength, pushing them to the brink of crisis.
As 2024 began, the royal family's hopeful outlook quickly turned into harsh reality. The Wales's work schedule was essentially wiped clean. Plans for a potential tour of Italy were scrapped, as were other engagements, such as Catherine accompanying Prince William to Cape Town for his Earthshot Prize award. In fact, their last overseas trip together was in 2023, and not even one photo from that occasion has surfaced.
In the meantime, the Wales family managed to keep a low profile, with a secret snowy getaway to the French Alps in the picturesque resort of Meribel. For now, there are no confirmed plans for a major royal tour together, though royal editor Rebecca English has reported that Prince William will undertake a few solo visits abroad in the coming months.
On the subject of Catherine’s health journey, it serves as a poignant reminder that recovery often comes in fits and starts. There will be events she simply cannot attend, especially with three young children at home. The hope is that, over time, she will return to her public duties.
In January of the previous year, Catherine underwent planned abdominal surgery and then seemingly disappeared from the public eye, sparking a bizarre chapter in modern royal history. Wild conspiracy theories about her whereabouts spread like wildfire. Things took a turn in March, when Catherine and William were caught on camera visiting a Windsor farm shop. Then, in a bid to calm the hysteria, a sweet Mother’s Day family shot was published—but it only made things worse. The image, apparently doctored by Catherine herself, quickly attracted ridicule from major photo agencies.
Less than two weeks later, everything changed again. The princess revealed that her doctors had discovered cancer, and she would begin preventative chemotherapy. Fortunately, by September, the story had a more hopeful ending. A professionally shot, soft-hued video announced that Catherine was cancer-free, but the journey was far from over.
Earlier this year, a Buckingham Palace insider shared that Catherine’s role in the royal family would shift dramatically. The priority moving forward would be her family, especially her children. Following her brush with mortality, Catherine would focus on what truly matters in life, prioritizing her loved ones above all else.
Here’s where things take an ironic turn—compare the Wales’s plans for 2025 with the ongoing drama in California. While working royals, like William and Catherine, bring joy to the public with their duties, Meghan Markle is in California, seemingly enjoying a life of leisure. It's hard not to notice the contrast, especially when Meghan often portrayed herself as feeling restricted during her time in the royal family. Yet, as anyone who knows the royals can attest, the late Queen Elizabeth was renowned for her use of bright colors to make herself visible to the crowds. Meghan, however, twisted this symbolism into a narrative of restriction and oppression.
It's a curious and, at times, frustrating contrast—while the Wales family navigates personal challenges and a reduced public role, others are seemingly living a life of freedom far from royal expectations. And for the time being, it appears Catherine's priorities are firmly with her family, with her public duties taking a backseat in 2025.
