How William and Sophie supported Kate at back-to-back royal appearances

The Princess of Wales attended Remembrance Day events this weekend, her first back-to-back public engagements since undergoing "planned abdominal surgery" in January and subsequent cancer treatment.

It was the Duchess of Edinburgh who was by Kate's side at the service of Remembrance at the Centopath on Sunday.

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The women stood side-by-side on the balcony at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office as King Charles and Prince William led the nation in a two-minute silence.

Charles and William then laid wreaths and saluted fallen soldiers.

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Following the service, Kate and Sophie turned to exit the balcony, with Sophie placing a protective hand on the Princess of Wales' shoulder in a rare public display of affection.

The evening before, the Princess of Wales joined Prince William for the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance at Royal Albert Hall. Here, William was seen placing a protective hand on his wife multiple times as they navigated the venue.

Royal biographer Sally Bedell Smith told People the Prince of Wales was being "very protective".

"There was an element of reassurance in the way he was behaving," she explained to the publication.

Queen Camilla was absent from both events as she recuperates from a chest infection at home.

Prince William had described 2024 as "brutal" and the "hardest year" of his life as he supported both his wife and his father who were undergoing cancer treatment.

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"Trying to get through everything else and keep everything on track has been really difficult," Prince William said during a November 7 interview in Cape Town, South Africa while abroad for the 2024 Earthshot Prize Awards.

"But I'm so proud of my wife, I'm proud of my father, for handling the things that they have done. But from a personal family point of view, it's been, yeah, it's been brutal."

The Princess of Wales announced she had completed cancer treatment in a moving video released in September.

The 42-year-old said she was "entering a new phase of recovery" and that her illness had given her a "new perspective on everything".

Kate said she was "looking forward to undertaking a few more public engagements in the coming months", but that her focus would be on "doing what I can to stay cancer free".

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