Where Is Kate Middleton?
The Princess of Wales’s sudden absence from public life is at the centre of a media storm
We’re used to near-daily access to the British royal family. News outlets across the globe cover the family members’ every move, from state banquets to charity events, international royal tours to local walkabouts. Countless photos of the family inundate our digital landscape, making these unreachable figures feel more like a thread intrinsic to the fabric of everyday life. This is what makes the Princess of Wales’s abrupt disappearance from the public eye feel so jarring.
Princess Kate made her last public appearance on December 25, joining King Charles III, husband Prince William, and her three kids — Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, 5 — for the annual walk to Sandringham Church for Christmas morning service.
Then, silence.
On January
17, Kensington
Palace shared an uncharacteristically personal update on the princess’s health, revealing that she had been hospitalised for an abdominal surgery. While the palace didn’t specify what the surgery was for, it did note that her recuperation period meant we would likely not see Kate again until after Easter, which falls on March 31.
Public speculation over her whereabouts has grown in the weeks since, with social media churning out a new conspiracy theory to explain her absence every other day. An official Kensington Palace portrait failed to quell the controversy, with the contentious family picture serving only to further fuel the rumor machine.
What surgery did Kate have?
Kensington Palace announced Kate’s hospitalisation for a “planned abdominal surgery” on January 17, though it refrained from specifying the reason.
“The surgery was successful, and it is expected that she will remain in hospital for 10-14 days, before returning home to continue her recovery,” the statement read.
So, where have we seen Kate?
Paparazzi captured the first public photos of Kate on March 4, which show the royal in sunglasses while seated in the passenger seat of a car driven by mom Carole Middleton.
Then, Kensington Palace released the first official photo of Kate since Christmas — a picture of her with her children, for the UK’s Mother’s Day on March 10. The portrait immediately generated buzz, with many social media users pointing out that certain elements appeared to be edited. The controversy was exacerbated when the Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, Getty Images, and Reuters retracted distribution of the portrait just hours after its release. “At closer inspection it appears that the source has manipulated the image,” an AP notification explained.
The following day, March 11, Kate issued a rare personal apology for the mishap, admitting to having edited the photo. Analyses of the metadata confirmed that the photo file had been saved twice on Adobe Photoshop the previous week.
On the same day the palace published Kate’s apology, paparazzi snapped photos of the princess riding in a car with William while leaving Windsor Castle. She was photographed with her head in profile, looking out the window, while William’s face was turned down.
On February 29, Kensington Palace released a statement that addressed the increasingly frenzied public speculation over Kate's absence: “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.”
Still, the increasing speculation over her Photoshop scandal “has caused some stress for the princess,” the source added.
The Prince of Wales has said that “Catherine had two Filipino nurses looking after her and they were amazing and kind.”