Kate return timeline emerges as Harry set for 40th birthday inheritance – live

The Band of the Welsh Guards also marked the occasion with music.

The late Queen Elizabeth II would have been “extremely proud” of how King Charles’s has handled the many challenges he has faced in his reign so far.

These include several health problems within the royal family, including his own cancer diagnosis, as well as ongoing tensions with his youngest son, Prince Harry, who he last saw in February.

Royal expert Duncan Larcombe told OK! magazine: “The Queen always had that ‘keep calm and carry on’ work ethic, and we’ve really seen that continue with the King.

“He has kept going, and you get the impression he’s been doing as much as he physically can. I wonder if his doctors might privately be a bit annoyed that he hasn’t rested as much as he could have.”

This year, in particular, has put King Charles’s vision for a comparatively slimmed-down monarchy to the test as the family battles several health problems, including his own cancer diagnosis.

As reported by the Express, the late monarch said four months before her death: “I have lived long enough to know things never remain quite the same for very long. Events and situations change with startling speed.”

Yesterday marked the second anniversary of the queen’s passing.

This comes ahead of the paperback release of the Duke of Sussex’s bombshell 2023 memoir Spare, which is said to have bagged him a $20m advance.

But royal expert Tom Bower said that should the duchess write her own account, it would destroy any hopes of a reconciliation between the Sussexes and the royal family.

He told Talk TV: “The only thing she has got left – and I think that is her potential gold mine – is her autobiography.”

Mr Bower added: “She has a very, very vivid imagination and she’ll be able to spell out an amazing story… to increase her income.”

The duchess currently has no known plans to write an autobiography.

The Scottish church where Queen Elizabeth II worshipped has hosted the BBC’s Songs Of Praise programme for the first time to mark the second anniversary of her death.

The special programme, which was screened on Sunday, featured a hymn commissioned by the King called Crathie in honour of the building.

During the programme, presenter Claire McCollum meets Crathie’s minister and chaplain to the monarch, Reverend Ken MacKenzie, to reflect on the late Queen’s deep faith and how she always felt part of his congregation.

He took the broadcaster on a historical tour of the kirk, including the foundation stone laid by Queen Victoria in 1893 and the royal pews where the King and Queen Camilla regularly worship.

The King faced a “rollercoaster” second year as sovereign, with the Queen proving herself the “star of the show” thanks to her support for her husband and the monarchy, a royal expert has said.

Sunday was the second anniversary of Charles’s accession to the throne and the loss of his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II.

The year 2024 looked set to offer a chance for the King and the royal family to settle in amid the aftermath the late Queen’s death and the King’s accession in 2022 and the hectic demands of the coronation in 2023.

But the health blows faced by Charles and the Princess of Wales torpedoed any plans for a run-of-the-mill year.

Joe Little, of Majesty magazine, said: “Nobody saw those things coming and they had a profound impact. It has been a rollercoaster year for the King, not just for him, but for his family, and it will have been of great concern to the Queen.

“Nonetheless he has been remarkably active for someone with his condition and given his age.

“He hasn’t really let the treatment hold him back, but I’m sure he hasn’t done anything near as much as he would have liked to have done.”

The Princess of Wales is hoping to join the royal family at the Cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday and host her Christmas carol concert, according to reports.

Kate, who has undergone months of chemotherapy treatment for cancer, is “potentially” set to join the King on November 10 at the national service in Whitehall in honour of those who died in conflict, The Sunday Times said.

Planning is also said to be under way for her annual televised Together At Christmas carol service at Westminster Abbey in December, if she continues to have “more ‘good days’”, the newspaper revealed.

Kate, 42, has made two official public appearances since her diagnosis – attending Trooping the Colour in June and presenting the Wimbledon men’s trophy in July.

No date has been set for her return to public life, but the princess is understood to be holding more regular meetings as she works from home, having enjoyed the summer with the Prince of Wales and their children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.

The King’s health is “heading in a very positive trajectory”, royal sources have said, as he marks the second anniversary of his accession to the throne.

Charles’, second year as sovereign has been filled with health concerns, having been diagnosed with cancer and dealing with ongoing treatment alongside his royal duties.

But a source said Charles had coped with the past year with a “determination to be as public as he was able” to reassure the nation about how much he could still do.

The King spent around three months away from public-facing duties and returned in April with a visit to a cancer centre in London.

He had a high profile run of engagements through the next few months with D-Day 80th anniversary commemorations in Portsmouth and Normandy, Trooping the Colour, the incoming Japanese state visit, a short trip to Jersey and Guernsey, the appointment of a new Prime Minister after Labour’s landslide general election, and the State Opening of Parliament.

The King and Queen are gearing up for an important tour to Australia and Samoa in the autumn – their first major overseas trip since news of Charles’s cancer was announced.

“Health has to remain the number one priority, albeit heading in a very positive trajectory,” the source said.

Sir Ian McKellen has asserted his support for Prince Harry as the duke’s estrangement with his brother and father continues.

The veteran British actor, 85, told The Times he believed Harry isn’t “bright enough” to deal wit the turmoils of royal life.

Reportedly pointing to a copy of Harry’s bombshell memoir, Spare, in his east London home, Sir Ian said: “I’m most definitely on Harry’s side.”

He added: “Imagine being born into the royal family. I’ve been in public life a bit, but these people are in prison. They can’t do anything normal. Can you imagine having to be nice to everyone you talk to?”

“Hats off to anyone who manages to stay sane in that world,” he said.

“Like the [late] Duke of Edinburgh managed to do, although even he was deeply, deeply eccentric and I suspect deeply unhappy. Same with the present king. He sort of survives, but he is clearly damaged. As for Harry, he’s probably not bright enough or doesn’t have the right friends to really help himself.

“Mind you, he had the pick of all the pretty women in the world. I hope he’s got the right one.”