Kensington Palace has released the first picture of Kate since her surgery as the Princess of Wales thanked the public for their support in a Mother’s Day message while she continues to recuperate, UK Daily mail reports.
Princess Kate, 42, was seen beaming with her three children, Prince George, Prince Louis and Princess Charlotte, in a photo taken by her husband, Prince William.
‘Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the last two months. Wishing everyone a Happy Mother’s Day,’ the Princess of Wales said, signing off the message with a ‘C’ for Catherine.
Kate has stepped back from royal duties since being was admitted to The London Clinic for ‘planned abdominal surgery’ on January 16.
The mother-of-three’s absence from royal engagements since the Christmas Day church service at Sandringham has led to huge speculation on social media – but the positive Mother’s Day update will be welcomed by royal fans.
Kensington Palace confirmed Kate’s surgery was successful and on January 29, it was announced she had been discharged and went home to Windsor.
Last Monday, she was photographed for the first time since the medical procedure after TMZ published pictures of her being driven around Windsor with her mother, Carole Middleton.
Ms Middleton’s brother – and Kate’s uncle – Gary Goldsmith then revealed on Celebrity Big Brother that her niece was getting the ‘best care in the world’.
Love Island winner Ekin-Su Culculoglu asked Goldsmith on Wednesday’s episode: ‘Where’s Kate?’
He replied: ‘Because she doesn’t want to talk about… The last thing I’m going to do is… there’s a kind of code of etiquette. If it’s announced, I’ll give you an opinion.’
Kate’s ‘black sheep’ uncle added: ‘I spoke to her mum, my sister, she’s getting the best care in the world.
‘And all the family’s done is put the wagons round and look after family first before anything else. They put a statement out and just said ‘she’s taking some time to recoup and will see you in Easter’.’
After Kate was photographed in paparazzi pictured on Monday, the Ministry of Defence was then forced to delete a claim on its website that the Princess of Wales would be attending the Trooping the Colour.
Tickets had gone on sale via the army website advertising Kate reviewing a ‘practice’ parade for the first time on June 8 in her role as honorary colonel of the Irish Guards.
It also announced that King Charles, 75, would be reviewing his own official birthday parade on June 15 at Horse Guards.
But within minutes of the tickets going on sale, there were warnings that the MoD may have ‘jumped the gun’.
Kensington Palace sources made clear that they were ‘not consulted’ on the MoD announcement and said that any confirmed attendance by the princess would be made ‘only’ by themselves.
Buckingham Palace confirmed that planning for future engagements was continuing despite the King’s ongoing cancer treatment yet stressed that changes could be made nearer the time depending on his health.
He is undertaking a very limited number of in-person engagements and certainly not anything with large crowds, on doctors’ advice.
The confusion has added to the sense of unease around the Royal Family, given that two of its most senior members are largely out of action for substantial periods.
Insiders have said, given the profile of the occasions, that it is likely that both the monarch and his daughter-in-law would do everything within their power to attend.
On Friday, the Prince of Wales visited the Oval cricket ground today as he continues to carry out engagements while Kate recovers