How the Royal Family Rallied Around Kate Middleton During Her Public Return: ‘It Was Protective’ (Exclusive)

The royal family was there for Kate Middleton during her first major set of events after completing chemotherapy treatment.

The Princess of Wales, 42, stepped out for her first consecutive royal events this weekend after announcing on Sept. 9 that she completed chemo —six months after revealing her cancer diagnosis and treatment. Her family’s unwavering support was evident through their subtle, supportive gestures.

On Nov. 9, Princess Kate appeared at the Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall in London, for what marked her first major outing with the royals since completing chemo. From the moment they arrived, Prince William‘s protective energy toward his wife was clear. He gently placed a reassuring hand on Kate’s back several times as they entered the venue in a loving gesture of support.

The sentimental gesture was a rare display of PDA from the Prince of Wales, 42, who described 2024 as “brutal” and the “hardest year” of his life as his wife, Princess Kate, and his father, King Charles, were each diagnosed with cancer.  

“Trying to get through everything else and keep everything on track has been really difficult,” Prince William said in part during a Nov. 7 interview in Cape Town, South Africa while abroad for the 2024 Earthshot Prize Awards. “But I’m so proud of my wife, I’m proud of my father, for handling the things that they have done. But from a personal family point of view, it’s been, yeah, it’s been brutal.”

Decoding the PDA on Saturday, royal biographer Sally Bedell Smith tells PEOPLE, “He was putting his arm around her and being very protective. It is connected to what he said about this being a ‘brutal’ year.” 

“He is not known for expressing his emotions in that way,” Bedell Smith says about William. “It was solicitous and protective in a very understandable way. There was a reason behind it, she was going into a big event where she was going to be on display. There was an element of reassurance in the way he was behaving.”

The Prince and Princess of Wales were out again on Nov. 10 with King Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Edward, Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, Prince Richard, the Duke of Gloucester, Birgitte, the Duchess of Gloucester and Prince Edward, the Duke of Kent, for the Cenotaph Service at the war memorial in London. It was the same cohort of working royals who came out in full force for the Festival of Remembrance the day prior, and Queen Camilla stayed home from both as she recovers from a chest infection. 

Princess Kate has never missed a Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph since she married Prince William in 2011, and Sophie showed her support as they stood together on the balcony of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. 

The two women shared a soft smile at one point during the solemn ceremony, and Sophie put her arm around Kate as they exited the balcony of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

The Duchess of Edinburgh, 59, has previously shown warmth toward Prince William in the same way, and she placed a hand on his back as they exited the Buckingham Palace balcony at Trooping the Colour in June. In 2022, a guest at the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth told PEOPLE it seemed like Sophie was “the glue” keeping everyone strong during mourning for the Queen.

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Though Princess Kate’s appearance at the set of Remembrance events is not interpreted as a full resumption of royal duties, she fulfilled a hope of being there with her family to commemorate the solemn holiday. It emerged when the Princess of Wales announced that she completed chemotherapy that she hoped to be at the Cenotaph event on Remembrance Sunday.

“Although I have finished chemotherapy, my path to healing and full recovery is long and I must continue to take each day as it comes,” Princess Kate said in the video message. “I am however looking forward to being back at work and undertaking a few more public engagements in the coming months when I can.”

“Despite all that has gone before, I enter this new phase of recovery with a renewed sense of hope and appreciation of life,” she said.

Looking ahead, PEOPLE confirms that Princess Kate is planning to have her annual carol concert in December.