Royal women wear green in quiet tribute after a difficult year for the family
Princess Catherine made a poignant return to public life during this year’s Trooping the Colour, using her appearance to pay quiet tribute to Macmillan Cancer Support amid ongoing health challenges within the royal family.
On Saturday, 14 June, the Princess of Wales wore a turquoise Catherine Walker coat dress, joined by Prince William and their children at the monarch’s official birthday celebration. Fashion expert Rebecca Bowyer told the Daily Express the colour was a clear homage to Macmillan Cancer Support, of which both Catherine and William are joint patrons.
“Green is undeniably the colour of Macmillan,” Bowyer explained, calling the choice “a beautiful tribute” that conveyed “unity, loyalty and respect.”
Catherine wasn’t alone in this subtle message. Her daughter and the Duchess of Edinburgh also wore green, which Bowyer described as a “deliberate… united front of support.”
The gesture followed what Prince William previously called a “brutal” year, as both his father, King Charles, and his wife battled cancer. Catherine revealed her diagnosis in March 2024, stepping away from public duties while undergoing preventative chemotherapy. She has since entered remission.
After missing last year’s parade, her return to the dais beside the King and Queen for the RAF flypast was described by former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond as “highly significant”—marking not only her resilience, but a powerful show of solidarity and hope from the royal women.
