King and Kate’s quiet reunion within the idyllic Balmoral countryside

The Princess of Wales’s appearance at Crathie Kirk has marked her and King Charles‘s reunion in the public eye – with the pair being pictured at the same place for the first time in months.

Their last joint endeavour was Trooping of the Colour in June, and Kate Middleton, 42, has since also been seen at the Wimbledon final last month, and in a supportive video for Team GB at the Olympics in early August.

However, it will surely be a welcome break for Prince William‘s wife and her father-in-law – who share a special bond, especially after both receiving cancer diagnoses around the same time – to enjoy a catch-up at the quiet idyllic Balmoral, which was beloved by the late Queen Elizabeth. 

It was recently revealed that Kate would join the Royal Family at Balmoral this month in what will have been her longest journey since opening up about her health struggles.

She and the Prince of Wales have decamped to the 50,000-acre estate in the Scottish Highlands each summer since their wedding in 2011, but some insiders feared this year could be different due to the princess’s condition.

Since the announcement that she was undergoing preventative chemotherapy in March, Kate has mostly balanced her time between Adelaide Cottage, their home in Windsor, and Anmer Hall, their holiday home in Norfolk, which are around 125 miles apart.

Her attendance will be seen by many as further reassurance that the princess is making ‘good progress’ after her diagnosis.

In June she told the public in an emotional message she was ‘not out of the woods yet’ and had ‘good days and bad days’, adding that her treatment would continue for ‘a few more months’.

She said that on her good days it was ‘a joy’ to ‘spend personal time on the things that give me energy and positivity’.

The annual holiday at Balmoral is a tradition for the royals, where they can relax in the peaceful countryside. 

Long country walks and fishing are typical pastimes, with William and Kate known to enjoy cycling through the leafy grounds. Kensington Palace declined to comment at the time.

Both the Princess and King are sure to welcome to a reprieve following their difficult year. 

However, their health struggles have also likely forged a new bond between the royal and his beloved daughter-in-law.

Recently, a royal expert claimed that Charles has ‘always had a great respect for Kate‘ and would ‘compare notes’ with her on the London Clinic’s food during their ‘affectionate’ meetings about their respective cancer treatments.

The pair both received treatment at the London Clinic in Harley Street earlier this year.  

Appearing in the Channel 5 documentary Kate: A Queen for the Future, the Daily Mail’s editor-at-large Richard Kay discussed Charles and Kate’s meetings during their time as patients in the London hospital.

Richard explained: ‘The King actually made a point of going to see Kate and there’s this rather touching story of [Charles] in his dressing gown padding down to his daughter-in-law’s floor.

‘They compared notes about the rather good hospital food, how their treatment was going. It was a moment of great affection.’

The London Clinic’s head chef Paul O’Brien leads a team which provides customised meals for patients that also source ingredients from Home Counties farms. 

Elsewhere in the documentary, The Telegraph’s royal correspondent India McTaggart said King Charles has always valued the Princess of Wales.

She explained: ‘Charles always had a lot of respect for Catherine and he said that in the wedding toast that he made. 

‘He said they were very lucky to have her and it remains true to this day.’

At the time, Kate’s former primary school headmaster Dr Robert Acheson, who is also a friend of the Middleton family, told the Daily Mail about the wedding speeches.

He said: ‘William spoke very well but it was Charles who really gave high praise to his daughter-in-law. He said they were really lucky to have a daughter like her.’

Susie Lea, a friend of the Middleton family, went on to describe some of the jokes Charles made during his toast.

She added: ‘The Prince of Wales made a few jokes about his bald patch and his son’s bald patch, saying it must be hereditary. 

‘He was stood slightly up on a small stand so he was looking down on William to his left. William smiled, he was amused. Kate looked amused as well.’ 

Later in the documentary, royal expert Robert Jobson said that Kate Middleton plays a crucial role in King Charles’ relationship with three grandchildren.

The expert said: ‘Catherine is very important in the relationship between Charlotte, George and Louis and the King.

‘When William and the King aren’t necessarily on the best of terms, as sometimes fathers and sons are, it’s always Catherine who makes sure that the King, if he wants to see his grandchildren, sees his grandchildren.’

The family break also gives them a chance to reconnect at Balmoral – which was famously loved by the late Queen Elizabeth II. 

Balmoral Castle, in Aberdeenshire, has been the Scottish home of the Royal Family since it was purchased for Queen Victoria by Prince Albert in 1852, having been first leased in 1848.

The King has also ordered construction of a giant, thistle-themed maze in the grounds – inspired by a maze he used to play in as a child at Sandringham.

The eyes of the world were drawn to the estate in September 2022 when the late Queen Elizabeth II died within its walls.

She had been photographed meeting with the then-new Prime Minister, Liz Truss, just two days before she died as she asked the one-time Tory leader to form a new government.

Balmoral was beloved by the late monarch and she, and the wider family, came to be regarded as neighbours by the locals in the nearby towns of Ballater and Braemar.

Many local businesses came to be associated with the estate, having been granted Royal Assent for providing services to the Royal family each summer, when they would come to stay for the entire season.

The late Queen was also a frequent sight around the estate, both on foot and at the wheel of a Range Rover.

Crathie Kirk has also been one of the key appearances Charles had been making on his own return to public life too. 

It comes as earlier this year, in an unprecedented move, His Majesty announced that Balmoral Castle will open its doors to members of the public.

Days later, news landed that Buckingham Palace‘s famous centre room, where the Royal Family gather before appearances on the balcony, is also to open to the public for the first time.

A leading royal expert at the time told FEMAIL that the move is due to Charles wanting the Royal Family to be ‘more transparent and cost effective’.

Writer and broadcaster Robert Jobson, author of Our King: Charles III – The Man And The Monarch Revealed, said the King has been ‘mulling over’ the decision for some time.

He said: ‘The King has been mulling over these plans to open up the royal residences to the public for some time.

‘It has even been mooted that Balmoral Castle might one day become a museum. This is a good compromise.

‘Making these buildings more accessible to the public is just part of acknowledging the need for the monarchy to evolve.

‘These historic buildings need to be cost effective as they are very expensive to run too. This helps that. The King has always wanted the Royal Family to be more transparent and cost effective.

‘This is all part of that and will generate money for the local communities around the royal residence too by bringing in more tourists.’ 

While Balmoral and Buckingham Palace’s centre room are the latest buildings to open to the public, they join a list of others offering public observation, including Windsor Castle, Kensington Palace, Kew Palace, Palace of Holyroodhouse, and Tower of London.