Kate Middleton has spent much time at home in the last few months. Her cancer diagnosis and abdominal surgery forced her to rest at their home at Adelaide Cottage. Still, luckily, the Princess of Wales has been back to royal duties twice, as of the latest at the Wimbledon tennis tournament.

The princess and Prince William have been through many challenges in recent years. While the future king has had to take on a lot of responsibility during Kate’s recovery and chemotherapy treatment, the feud with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle has taken a lot of energy from them in recent years. Still, despite all the challenges and sometimes rough times, the couple has made it through together.

Prince William and Kate Middleton go way back, meeting for the first time while studying at the university. But the first time they met didn’t end up quite as the future-Princess of Wales perhaps would’ve wanted, as she once recalled an ’embarrassing’ moment during their first meeting.

Kate Middleton and the royal family have had a very tough year. King Charles was diagnosed with cancer while Kate Middleton was recovering from abdominal surgery. In March, after months of speculation about her health, the Princess of Wales revealed she had also been diagnosed with cancer.

Royal fans worldwide were worried about Kate’s future and whether she would ever recover enough to perform her royal duties and, most importantly, be there for her children. Therefore, the news that she would appear during Trooping the Colour in June left fans over the moon.

Kate Middleton – royal comeback

While Kate looked like she was really enjoying her royal return, smiling and waving to well-wishers on the side of the road, exactly how she was doing wasn’t known at all.

Some days after Trooping the Colour, royal expert Katie Nicholl claimed the princess hadn’t fully recovered, as she sat down when she could during the big royal event.

At the same time, Nicholl claimed that Kate MIddleton felt she needed to be there.

“The princess has this sort of swan-like quality about her — she’s sort of gliding on the surface — but beneath the water, I think often she’s paddling quite frantically,” Katie Nicholl told ET Online. “I can only imagine that a huge amount of preparation and time and effort and energy will have gone into Saturday’s appearance.”

“She was on her feet for a long period of time. There was a moment where she was watching the parade… and was offered a seat, which she gratefully accepted. That’s just a bit of an acknowledgment that she is not as strong, not as fit, as she was before she went into this treatment.”

“I think a day like Saturday, where she knows the eyes of the world are on her, there is a huge amount of scrutiny that will take its toll,” Katie Nicholl continued. “I think we can probably imagine that she probably had a long and well-deserved rest afterward, I don’t think we can expect to see her in public for a little while. That’s going to take some recovery from.”

Standing ovation at Wimbledon

The royal expert concluded, “I think she felt very much that she needed to be there. The children looked so happy and relaxed having their mother there… It was important, I think, for the Princess of Wales to be there to support her father-in-law, to be there for her family, and to be there for the nation to send out a really important message that she’s doing OK.”

Even though Kate made her royal return during Trooping the Colour, it was clear that she wouldn’t be back full-time. She is still recovering from her cancer diagnosis, which she received in February, but just a few weeks ago, royal fans got to see her again. And, of course, it was at the Wimbledon tennis tournament, a sport which has been one of, if not her favorite, sports.

Kate Middleton arrived to watch the Wimbledon Men’s single final between Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, which the princess also is a patron of.

Arriving with her daughter, Princess Charlotte, and sister Pippa Middleton, Kate got standing ovations from the thousands of fans attending the final.

Speaking with ET, Katie Nicholl said she was “surprised” to see Kate at the major sporting event.

“This was an important event for her”

“When she turned up, the crowd showed their appreciation with the standing ovation, which went on for quite a while actually, and the Princess [was] very, very touched by that,” Nicholl said. “I think she looked quite overwhelmed by the moment, absolutely delighted to be there.”

“She is a great tennis player. She’s a huge fan of the game, and clearly, Princess Charlotte has the tennis bug, too, something that runs in the Middleton family. So I think, for Kate to have not gone, and would have been a great shame for royal fans, for tennis fans, and for the Princess herself,” the royal expert added. “This was an important event for her.”

Kate Middleton has received tremendous support from the public throughout this very challenging time. Meanwhile, her husband, Prince William, has taken on much responsibility at home with their three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis.

The last six months have been challenging, and for a couple like the Prince and Princess of Wales to have a big responsibility towards the public while simultaneously juggling their private life could indeed have backfired. But at the same time, looking back on their long love story, they have been through plenty of tough times, most likely making their bond even stronger.

The Prince and Princess of Wales dated for years before tying the knot and starting a family. William and Kate first met while studying at St Andrews University, and it didn’t take long before they fell in love.

Kate Middleton’s ’embarrassing’ first meeting with Prince William

Meeting a future king must have been special, and Kate Middleton recalled being very nervous. They both lived in the same accommodation block, St Salvador’s Hall and at first, they were simply friends.

In an interview marking their 2010 engagement, Kate Middleton remembered how their first encounter left her face “bright red.” Meanwhile. William had problems recalling the moment, saying he had to “wrack his brains.”

“I actually went bright red when I met you and scuttled off feeling very shy about meeting you,” Kate Middleton recalled.