Kate’s brave public return exposed a very private vulnerability. But, says MAUREEN CALLAHAN, it also proved why she couldn’t be more different from Meghan

For true royal decorum, look no further than the re-emergence of Catherine, Princess of Wales. After months of quietly undergoing chemotherapy, having famously declared a retreat from public duties, the princess announced, just last Friday, that she was feeling well enough to attend the Trooping the Color ceremonies the following day.

Rather than indulge — as a certain duchess tends — in victimhood, self-pity, oversharing and navel-gazing, the princess expressed gratitude, humility, and a desire to celebrate with her family and the King, himself enduring his own cancer battle. Alongside a new photo of Kate standing alone in a lush wooded green, looking up towards the sun in a spirit of health, renewal and optimism, a statement read:

‘I have been blown away by all the kind messages of support and encouragement over the last couple of months… as anyone going through chemotherapy will know, there are good days and bad days. On those bad days you feel weak, tired and you have to give in to your body resting… I am learning how to be patient, especially with uncertainty’. Kate went on to write that ‘I am not out of the woods yet’.

This is a remarkable admission for a woman who is quite obviously a perfectionist, who rarely sets a foot wrong, whose public presentation is ever immaculate, whose three young children are astonishingly well-behaved. Kate Middleton, for the first time, has shared her fears and vulnerabilities, perhaps even a tendency towards impatience. How human. How honest.

She began not with her own sorrows but with a note of thanks, before commiserating with her fellow travelers. It was a jolting yet very welcome announcement. Now, of course, as Kate’s sudden return generated global headlines, the supporters of Montecito’s despoiling duchess seemingly couldn’t allow her ailing sister-in-law the spotlight. Yes: Meghan Markle, more stubborn than kudzu, popped back up again — or rather, a surrogate did.

Of course, while there’s no way to know if Meghan had any awareness of this latest stunt, it certainly felt woefully predictable. Hours before Kate’s appearance at Saturday’s parade, Harry’s great pal Nacho Figueras posted a jar of American Riviera Orchard jam — a new flavor, a limited edition (‘2 of 2’ the jar read) — with that basic muslin wrap and cloying hand-tied bow. Hey — at least this label wasn’t peeling!

Figueras also posted a jar of dog treats, which looked to be labeled with Meghan’s ostentatious calligraphy. And it’s all led to a rather well-deserved backlash — not just over the timing, but over the content itself.