Having been diagnosed with cancer and undergoing the gruelling treatment of chemotherapy, there was never any doubt that the Princess of Wales’ year has been a tough one.

Kate herself admitted in June that while she was tentatively planning to ease back into official duties, she was not “out of the woods yet” – and sources close to her have now revealed how much worse the situation was behind closed doors.

According to the Daily Mail’s royal editor, Rebecca English, it’s been a “rough, rough time” for both the princess and her husband, Prince William – and that it’s been the “toughest year of their lives together.”

“It’s been a rough, rough time, a really difficult year for the entire family. And as she herself said, she is not out of the woods yet,” a source told the reporter.

“The direction is positive [but] there will not be great change [in terms of her public profile] after Sunday night and no one is giving a timescale for her return.”

Putting on a brave face

Insiders added that while Kate had put on a brave face, she’d been privately struggling more than people had realised.

“I don’t think people realise how much she has gone through behind the scenes and for how long, far longer than anyone actually appreciates,” said the source.

“She’s an incredibly strong woman, but she really has been through the wars. Her treatment and recovery is still a priority and will be ongoing for some time to come.”

In June, after a lengthy period almost complete silence about the princess’ health, Kensington Palace released a message written by Kate, in which she spoke candidly about her health journey and confirmed she would begin attending public events on days when she felt well enough.

“I have been blown away by all the kind messages of support and encouragement over the last couple of months. It really has made the world of difference to William and me and has helped us both through some of the harder times,” Kate wrote.

“I am making good progress, but 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. But on the good days, when you feel stronger, you want to make the most of feeling well.”

“It’s not a pleasant thing”

The statement understandably came as a significant and positive development in her progress, but a friend of the future Queen’s told the Daily Mail that she was not yet at the stage of taking on “a more regular workload”, confirming she was absolutely “not at that stage yet”.

Instead, Kate’s return was likely to be more of a “slow build”.

Shortly before her return to the public eye with an appearance at the Trooping the Colour in June, a rare insight into her cancer battle was shared by Vanity Fair’s royal correspondent, Katie Nicholl.

“I’ve been told by sources very close to the Princess of Wales that she had struggled with the treatment initially,” she told The Sun’s Royal Exclusive Show.

“It’s preventive chemotherapy, it’s not a pleasant thing.

“No one wants to have to have this, you know, off the back of major surgery, a pretty long recovery period, and then she has to go through the treatment.

“I think it was a struggle initially and I was very, very relieved to hear from actually more than one source that she has recently turned a corner.”

Meanwhile, the latest development comes as the Prince and Princess of Wales and their three children – Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, nine, and Prince Louis, six – are enjoying what’s been described as a “fabulous” summer in the UK, with Kate’s recovery finally “moving in the right direction”.

The family is currently at their home in Norfolk, Anmer Hall, and are expected to head up to Scotland to stay with the King and Queen at Balmoral later this month.