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U.K. Army Removes Claim Kate Middleton Will Attend Event Amid Ongoing Speculation

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The British Army has removed its claim that Kate, Princess of Wales will be attending its annual Trooping the Colour event.

Until Tuesday, tickets for the Military parade on June 8 were on sale alongside an image of the royal. It was anticipated that Kate would review the display as part of her role as Colonel of the Irish Guards — the regiment trooping its color this summer.

The website similarly advertised the second Trooping the Colour event for the King’s Birthday Parade, which announced that King Charles III will review the troops on June 15.

The army has now removed the claim that Kate will attend the event, as the details were not formally confirmed by Kensington Palace before it was published. Buckingham Palace has not confirmed Charles’ attendance, but his inclusion on the army website has remained. 

It is understood that the attendance of senior royals is typically confirmed closer to the date of an event. Kensington Palace did not immediately respond to TIME’s request for comment and the U.K.’s Ministry of Defence had no public comment to offer.

The miscommunication has caused further confusion amid growing speculation about the Health of both Kate and her father-in-law, King Charles.

The King has also suspended public engagements while he seeks treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer, as announced publicly on Feb. 6. The 75-year-old monarch was forthcoming with the news of his diagnosis in order to “prevent speculation” about his illness.  

He has since continued with some official duties, such as his weekly in-person audience with the U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. 

But information about Kate’s illness has been more discreet. The 42-year-old was hospitalized for two weeks in January following a “planned abdominal surgery” and she has since been recovering in Windsor. It was confirmed that she would not carry out royal duties during this time.  

Kate had not been seen in public since her last engagement in Norfolk, England, over the Christmas period, until TMZ leaked a paparazzi photo of the royal on Tuesday. 

The image showed the royal in a car with her mother, Carole Middleton, driving in the Windsor area, which many U.K. publications chose not to publish, seemingly out of respect to her privacy. The photo came amid widespread speculation about her whereabouts.

Addressing the rumors, Kensington Palace in a statement last week: "We were very clear from the outset that the Princess of Wales was out until after Easter and Kensington Palace would only be providing updates when something was significant."

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