When Will Kate Middleton Return to Royal Duties After Abdominal Surgery?
Questions remain about exactly when Princess Kate Middleton will return to royal duties.
The Princess of Wales, 42, had seemingly been confirmed to make an appearance ahead of the upcoming Trooping the Colour parade in June. On the official website for the British army, Kate was pictured alongside details about the event when ticket sales started on Tuesday, March 5, but the event description was changed one day later to remove all mentions of Prince William’s wife.
Kate, who was named the honorary Colonel of the Irish Guards by King Charles III, traditionally conducts the Colonel's Review the weekend before Trooping the Colour. Over 1,400 soldiers are set to take part in the review, where Kate was expected to inspect soldiers at Horse Guards Parade in London.
Trooping the Colour officially marks Charles' birthday (despite his November birth). The website also listed Charles, 75, as in attendance at the parade after he publicly announced his ongoing battle with cancer. References to the king’s attendance remained on the site after the princess was edited out.
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While the military included both Kate and Charles on their website, neither Kensington nor Buckingham Palace have confirmed the royals to be in attendance. Kate andWilliam's upcoming royal engagements are announced through Kensington Palace.
Kate is currently out of the spotlight as she continues to recover from abdominal surgery. Kensington Palace originally confirmed in January that Kate won't be involved in any royal engagements until April at the earliest.
"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," read a statement shared via the palace’s official X account. "Based on the current medical advice, she is unlikely to return to public duties until after Easter."
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The palace noted that Kate had a "planned" procedure, adding, "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. ... The Princess of Wales wishes to apologize 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."
A source previously told Us Weekly that Kate isn't planning to share details about her operation yet. “She’s been resting up and enjoying lots of visits from Prince William and the kids,” the insider said, noting that Kate “may disclose more information in due course.”
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William, 41, briefly took a brief break from public duties to help Kate recover. After rumors started to swirl about Kate's whereabouts, William fueled the chatter by canceling a royal engagement on February 27 for undisclosed “personal reasons.”
Kate's rep subsequently shut down social media theories about Kate, telling Us on Thursday, February 29, “Kensington Palace made it clear in January the timelines of the princess’ recovery and we’d only be providing significant updates. That guidance stands.”
Kate was spotted publicly for the first time in two months on Monday, March 4, when she was photographed being driven by mother Carole Middleton. In photos obtained by TMZ, Kate wore sunglasses while sitting in the passenger's seat of the vehicle.
William, meanwhile, spoke out about his spouse for the first time on Wednesday, March 6. “His focus is on work and not on social media,” a representative for the Prince of Wales told People.
