Princess Kate’s return to her royal responsibilities will be delayed beyond initial expectations, as indicated by a recent report.
The Royal Editor of The Sunday Times, Roya Nikkhah, disclosed exclusively after conversing with a close friend and advisor of the Princess, that the announcement from Kensington Palace about Kate resuming her duties after Easter did not imply an immediate return following the holiday weekend.
Instead, she will recommence her royal engagements sometime after her children’s Easter break at Lambrook school, concluding on April 17. However, specific dates or engagements have not yet been disclosed.
Since her hospitalization for abdominal surgery in January, Kate’s health has been a subject of considerable speculation, surprising royal observers. Concern for the mother-of-three heightened last weekend following the withdrawal of a Mother’s Day image of Kate from photo agencies due to being digitally altered. The Princess issued a rare social media statement apologizing for the edit.
Kensington Palace has always maintained that the Princess would not be seen in public before Easter, stating: “We were very clear from the outset that the Princess of Wales was out until after Easter and Kensington Palace would only be providing updates when something was significant.”
Their original statement about Kate’s health, released on 17 January, read: “Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales was admitted to The London Clinic yesterday for planned abdominal surgery.
“The surgery was successful and it is expected that she will remain in hospital for ten to fourteen days, before returning home to continue her recovery. Based on the current medical advice, she is unlikely to return to public duties until after Easter. The Princess of Wales appreciates the interest this statement will generate.
“She hopes that the public will understand her desire to maintain as much normality for her children as possible; and her wish that her personal medical information remains private.
“Kensington Palace will, therefore, only provide updates on Her Royal Highness’ progress when there is significant new information to share. The Princess of Wales wishes to apologise to all those concerned for the fact that she has to postpone her upcoming engagements. She looks forward to reinstating as many as possible, as soon as possible.”
The most recent public appearance of Kate with her family was during the Christmas morning church service at Sandringham, a customary tradition for the royal family, where she was accompanied by her husband, children, and other relatives.
Although she hasn’t been actively participating in royal engagements since that time, The Times also notes sightings of the Princess at her children’s school.
“Kate has been at Lambrook to support the children,” reads the report, which also adds that Prince William cheered on his daughter, Princess Charlotte, at a football match on Thursday.
