Over the past year Kate Middleton has taken a step back from royal duties after revealing in March that she’d been diagnosed with cancer and was in the early stages of treatment after a cancer diagnosis. During the summer months, the Princess of Wales made appearances at Trooping The Colour and the Wimbledon Men’s Final before announcing in September that she’d completed her chemotherapy treatment and was now focusing on “staying cancer free”.

Since then Kate, 42, has slowly returned to royal duties, including her annual Christmas carol service, Together At Christmas, which featured a star-studded guestlist with the likes of Richard and Judy, Strictly’s Amy Dowden, and TV favourite Lorraine Kelly, OK! reports.

Kate recently attended the Together At Christmas carol service with her family ( Image: Getty Images)

But in a challenging year marked by health struggles and preventative chemotherapy treatment, the Princess of Wales and her family seem closer than ever. Speaking exclusively to OK!, former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond said that they “have pulled together as a unit” despite the “brutal” last 12 months.

“William and Catherine have been quite generous this year in allowing their children to be seen in public. It can’t be easy for young people to face cameras, crowds and scrutiny, and the natural instinct of parents is to protect their children from too much attention. But we saw them at Trooping the Colour and of course in the very personal video released by Catherine to mark the end of her chemotherapy, plus the carol service and Christmas walkabout. And they seem to change as every month goes by,” she said.

“A year like they have just endured must, as William said, have been brutal for the entire family. But it seems clear that they have pulled together as a unit and they look very much in harmony and delighted to be out and about together again.”

The family “look very much in harmony and delighted,” says Jennie Bond ( Image: Getty Images)

As a result, Jennie says that the Prince and Princess of Wales should be “proud” of their children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. So too should they be proud of themselves.

“I think William and Catherine should be rightly proud of their brood and proud of themselves for guiding them through this incredibly difficult year,” she explained. “I think a shout-out should also go to Carole and Michael Middleton, who have undoubtedly been a vital part of the family this year, both practically and emotionally. I’m sure William and Catherine leant on them very hard during their darkest days.

“And, as we know from Louis’ card on the tree at the carol service, Granny and Grandpa are great playmates for their grandchildren and have put in more than a shift or two playing games with them. I don’t think there’s any reason to suspect we’ll see more of them in 2025, but there will be the usual occasional public appearance as their parents gently acclimatise them to life in the public eye.”