Princess Kate’s comeback boosts royals after Prince Andrew scandal, cancer

LONDON — Rocked by a scandal that saw King Charles III heckled in the streets before banishing his brother, the British royal family finally has some good news: Princess Kate is back.

Consistently ranked among the most popular members of the British royal family, Kate appears to have returned to public duties more easily this week.

She gave her first in-person speech Monday since sharing her cancer diagnosis 18 months ago.

“The love we feel in our early years fundamentally shapes who we become and how we flourish as adults,” said Kate, speaking to business leaders at the Future Workforce Summit in London about the importance of early childhood, a cause she has championed for years.

“Love is the first and most essential bond.”

The princess has made an increasing number of public appearances since announcing this year that her cancer was in remission, but this speech appears to bring her more permanently back into the royal fold.

“Welcome, Princess,” declared the Daily Telegraph’s front page.

She enjoyed more positive coverage after another appearance Wednesday evening at one of the most joyous events on the royal calendar, the annual Royal Variety Performance, telling well-wishers it was “so nice to be back” at the event, according to British media.

She returns after weeks of torrid headlines for the family, with the king stripping his brother Andrew of his princely title last month, amid growing scrutiny over his links to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

“What you see and hear about Catherine is that the monarchy is doing the kind of work it should be doing today,” said Craig Prescott, who teaches law at Royal Holloway, University of London, and specializes in the constitutional and political role of the monarchy.

He told NBC News that the speech focused on early childhood was a “good moment” for the family, reflecting its role in “interesting but not directly political causes.”

There has been a focus on everything but the family’s normal burden of public engagements and inaugurations in recent years, as the royal family has endured a stream of uncertainty and upheaval since the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022.

The royal family was rocked early last year by news that Charles, then 75, had been diagnosed with cancer after just two years on the throne, for which he is still undergoing treatment.

Relations with the media were then damaged by a damaging saga when Kate, then largely absent from the public eye, admitted to altering a family photo released by the palace. A few weeks later, Kate announced her diagnosis and said she was undergoing chemotherapy.

The king is also working to bridge a rift with his son Prince Harry, who stepped down from royal duties in 2020. They met for a private tea in September, their first meeting in almost two years; Guillaume was not present.

It was the king’s younger brother, Andrew, who generated what Prescott called the first significant crisis of Charles’ reign, with new revelations about his links to Epstein last month prompting the king to strip him of his royal titles and evict him from his home in Windsor.

Earlier this month, 16 Democrats on the House Oversight Committee wrote asking the former prince, now Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, to cooperate with their investigation into Epstein. Thursday is the deadline for Andrew to respond.

Now that Kate appears to be back on the royal front line, there appears to be an opportunity to refocus, royal watchers said.

“It was Kate’s first speech in two years, and she seemed very polished, very calm and confident, and she’s clearly in a very good place,” said Emily Nash, royal editor of HELLO! Review. “We can expect to see a lot more of this in the future.” »

Kate is regularly considered one of the most popular members of the royal family.

Her approval rating stood at 73% in October, according to a YouGov poll, just below that of her husband, Prince William, at 76%. The royal family in general had a 59% favorability rating.

“It feels like she was never wrong,” Prescott said. A sense of affection and support for William after the death of his mother, Princess Diana, in a car crash extended to Kate after she married into the royal family and “gave her a good platform to build from”, he added.

Like the late queen, she is someone who takes her role as a member of the royal family very seriously and understands the concept of duty, Prescott said.