Princess Kate 'back training at the gym' and expected to resume overseas travel

Kate Middlton wearing pink blazer at Natural History Museum
Kate visited the The Urban Nature Project at The Natural History Museum in 2021 (Getty)

The Princess of Wales is starting to return to royal duties in the name of causes close to her heart.

Last month she made her first significant public appearance, just weeks after she emotionally revealed she had completed her course of preventative chemotherapy.

Catherine, Princess of Wales waves in pale blue shirt and coat
The Princess of Wales is slowly starting to return to royal duties (Getty Images)

Robert Jobson, best-selling author of Catherine: The Princess of Wales, believes we will see more outings from Kate – including foreign trips – but that she will take a "less is more" approach, hand-picking her public appearances for maximum impact.

"From what I understand, Catherine is doing very well. She is back training at the gym and doing all the things she wanted to do," he told HELLO!.

Princess Kate in Southport
In October, Kate made her first major public appearance since completing chemotherapy (Getty Images)

"I do think that we will start to see a lot more of her, and that she will carry out engagements as well as continuing to work behind the scenes."

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Reflecting on her public appearances, he continued: "But rather than travel all over the country all the time, like she used to, I think she will concentrate on more impactful events. If she has her way, she will come back in stages and do things that are important to her: because she doesn't want to get ill again but also, I'm told, because she has a different perspective now.

"Her focus will be on her family, while still managing to do the key events. I think William is very keen that she does stage a comeback, but I don't think that necessarily signals that we're going to get a big tranche of engagements, one after the other.

William and Kate in Windsor
Robert believes Kate will "concentrate on more impactful events" (Getty Images)

"They probably realise that if you get a lot of something all the time, it lessens its impact. With Catherine being the main female star of the royal family, actually you can make a bigger statement by being seen less."

2025 is likely to involve more planning, especially if William and Kate carry out an overseas tour. Any travels could include an official trip to Italy, at the request of the Foreign Office, which they had to postpone earlier this year.

couple walking down steps
The royal couple had to postpone their visit to Italy (Getty Images)

"They will start travelling again and I expect them to do at least one tour next year," Robert explained. "I would expect a trip to Canada or somewhere at some stage, and Italy is the sort of trip they could do in two or three days.

"Catherine may well do a couple of solo things so that William can stay at home with the kids. The King is bound to have had a conversation with Catherine about how buoyed he felt by his recent overseas tour, but she will do things her own way. Her illness has been a life-changing experience; she has changed the way she lives her life and I think she will be making her own choices. Her priority is still her family."