Kate Middleton Jokes About Lagging Behind Prince William and Kids on Christmas Day Walkabout: ‘I Seem to Have Lost My Family!’

Kate — who previously admitted that “Everybody teases me in the family that I spend far too long chatting” — had much to discuss with well-wishers on Dec. 25

Catherine, Princess of Wales attends the Christmas Morning Service at St Mary Magdalene Church on Dec. 25, 2024 in Sandringham, Norfolk. Photo: Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty

As she prioritized her health this year amid her cancer diagnosis, Kate Middleton has largely been away from public life throughout 2024.

With that in mind, it made sense when the Princess of Wales, 42, joined other members of the royal family for their traditional Christmas Day walkabout after a morning church service at St. Mary Magdalene on the Sandringham estate that members of the public wanted to talk with her specifically. Kate had a number of poignant conversations during the walkabout — including one with a woman who also had faced down cancer — and emotional conversations like that naturally require more time than a simple “Hello.”

Kate Middleton Steps Out for Christmas Day Walk Alongside Family, Marking End of ‘Hardest’ Year

A lighthearted moment during the Dec. 25 walkabout happened when Kate cheekily quipped to a well-wisher “I seem to have lost my family!” after husband Prince William and children Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, 9, and Prince Louis, 6, were so far ahead of her down the path. William, 42, and the kids stood patiently waiting feet away, waiting for her to finish chatting with the crowd, per The Daily Mail.

For the occasion, Princess Kate wore a forest green Alexander McQueen coat she previously wore during a visit to Leeds in 2023. It was paired with a matching fascinator and scarf as well as black gloves and boots in a coordinated matching moment with Queen Camilla, who led the royal contingent on the walk along with her husband, King Charles.

During the walkabout, Kate smiled from ear-to-ear as she accepted armfuls of flowers, knelt down to speak with young children and met members of the public who were eager to speak with her, including John Loughrey, who told Sky News of meeting the future queen, “I’m on top of the world.”

“I told Catherine she was an inspiration,” he said.

Catherine, Princess of Wales, Prince Louis of Wales, Princess Charlotte of Wales, Prince William, Prince of Wales and Prince George of Wales attend the Christmas Morning Service at Sandringham Church on Dec. 25, 2024 in Sandringham, Norfolk.Samir Hussein/WireImage

Karen Maclean — who has had cancer for over 20 years — spoke with Princess Kate and King Charles, who were both diagnosed with cancer earlier this year. (The types and stages of both of their cancers remain unknown to the public, though Kate announced on Sept. 9 that she had completed her chemotherapy treatment, and the palace announced Dec. 20 that the King’s treatment will continue into 2025 but is headed in a positive direction.)

“We just had a little talk about cancer,” Maclean said of her conversation with the Princess of Wales, adding that both Kate and Charles seemed “very well actually, considering what they’re going through.”

After she hugged Kate, Maclean added, “What a privilege.”

Catherine, Princess of Wales reacts as she is presented with flowers after attending the Royal Family’s traditional Christmas Day service at St Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham, Norfolk, eastern England, on Dec. 25, 2024. OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty

Kate Middleton’s Emotional Return to Royal Walkabouts: ‘She Seemed So Happy to Be with Us Again’ (Exclusive)

Louis Beauchamp spoke with Kate on Dec. 25 after previously meeting her in May 2023 ahead of King Charles’ coronation.

“I had an unforgettable interaction with Catherine,” Beauchamp told PEOPLE of their Christmas Day conversation.

Beauchamp — who is from France — added, “Unfortunately, when she announced she was suffering from cancer, I knew we would not be seeing her in public for a very long time. Sandringham was the best opportunity for me. So I booked a trip and went there to show I was still there to support her and always will.”

Beauchamp wrote Kate a letter about the “positive impact she has had on my life over the years,” he said, and gave her a scarf he had made for her in Morocco.

“She thanked me very much and said it was wonderful and so kind of me to have come again,” he told PEOPLE. “She was as genuine and close to people as I remembered. She seemed so happy to be with us again. You could tell she was truly touched.”

The Princess of Wales speaks to members of the public following the Christmas Day morning church service at St Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham, Norfolk.Aaron Chown/PA Images via Getty

Kate previously spoke in a documentary honoring Queen Elizabeth on her 90th birthday in 2016 about how she tended to get chatty during walkabouts: “There’s a real art to walkabouts,” she said. “Everybody teases me in the family that I spend far too long chatting. I still have to learn a little bit more, and to pick up a few more tips, I suppose.”

Kate’s Christmas Day appearance capped off a year that saw her undergo a planned abdominal surgery in January and be absent from public life until June’s Trooping the Colour following her March video announcement that she had been diagnosed with cancer. In July, she stepped out at Wimbledon with daughter Princess Charlotte and sister Pippa Middleton, and after her September video announcement that she had completed therapy, she has been gradually returning to royal duty, including visiting Southport, England in October with Prince William, participating in Remembrance events in November and hosting her annual Together at Christmas carol concert at Westminster Abbey on Dec. 6.

Catherine, Princess of Wales attends the ‘Together At Christmas’ Carol Service at Westminster Abbey on Dec. 6, 2024 in London, England.Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty

At the carol concert, Kate candidly shared she “didn’t know this year was going to be the year that I’ve just had … the unplanned.”

She added, “But I think lots of people this year have had such challenging times, and many who are here today.”

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Catherine, Princess of Wales and Prince Louis of Wales attend the Christmas Morning Service at Sandringham Church on Dec. 25, 2024 in Sandringham, Norfolk.Samir Hussein/WireImage

Though the Dec. 25 walkabout was a familiar sighting, on the precipice of 2025, an insider told PEOPLE, “She won’t be going back to work in the same way for a long time.”

Kate “is very much in control of her return to public life,” royal biographer Sally Bedell Smith told PEOPLE. “She is doing what works best for her.” A friend added, “She is focused on herself and her family right now, rightly.”

“You can’t go through something like that and come out the other side unchanged,” a source said. “She is a different person now.”