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

Two family members were shown supporting the Princess of Wales as she stepped back into the spotlight

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.