Princess Kate is still "taking baby steps" as she returns to work

The Princess of Wales has returned to duty this season, following an extended leave of absence to focus on her cancer recovery. And now having completed her chemotherapy treatment, she has confirmed her gradual return to work.

"The last nine months have been incredibly tough for us as a family," the 42-year-old mother of three announced in a statement. "Life as you know it can change in an instant and we have had to find a way to navigate the stormy waters and road unknown.

"Doing what I can to stay cancer free is now my focus," she continued, emphasising that her return to work will be gradual. "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."

This, according to royal experts, is something that Princess Kate has been taking extremely seriously, ensuring that she is "taking baby steps" in order to manage her energy and stress levels.

"Kate has a lot more energy than she did even a few weeks ago. She's tremendously relieved that the treatments seem to have worked and she can call herself cancer-free, but she's not taking anything for granted," royal expert Christopher Andersen explained to Us Weekly. "She's following doctor’s orders... [It's] baby steps... She loves the work, but it can be tiring."

He later continued: "Kate has been [recovering] for some time but is not yet back to full strength. It will be some time - certainly months - before we see her plunge headlong into a full-time schedule."

It is not known when the Princess of Wales will return to duty in a permanent capacity, but she has stressed that she looks forward to being back when she is ready and able.

We will continue to update this story.