Princess may make walk to church for Easter

Kate’s return could come sooner than expected as St Patrick’s Day event goes ahead without her

THE Princess of Wales has not ruled out making a return to the public eye on Easter Sunday, when she could join her family for the traditional walk to church.

Kensington Palace said when the Princess underwent abdominal surgery on Jan 17 that she would recuperate in private, at home, until after Easter.

She is not expected to return to public engagements until the week beginning April 15 at the earliest, as the family takes a three-week break for the Easter holidays from March 22. The children return to school on April 17.

However, the Princess has made no decision about whether she might join her family at the annual Easter Matins service at St George’s Chapel, Windsor.

A palace source noted there had been “no confirmation either way” and that anything else was speculation.

If she is well enough, an appearance on Easter Sunday, when the Princess would be photographed walking through the grounds of Windsor Castle, might be considered a gentle means of returning to the public eye after a tumultuous few weeks.

The mother-of-three is aware of the pressure she will be under when she returns to work, not least following her admission that she edited a family photograph before it was released. The Mother’s Day photograph had been intended to reassure the public that she was fit and well, putting to bed internet rumours that suggested otherwise.

However, when it emerged that the image had been manipulated, it created the opposite effect, only fuelling further wild conspiracy theories.

The Princess’s first public appearance will therefore be particularly significant, marking her first official outing since Christmas Day.

Kensington Palace acknowledged from the outset that when she is ready, the Princess may choose to disclose further details about her surgery and recovery. But aides have also stressed that it is her own private medical information and will therefore be a matter entirely for her.

Reports this weekend suggested nothing had changed in this regard.

One source told The Sunday Times: “They are at their most open when out interacting with members of the public, and I can see a world in which the princess might discuss her recovery out on engagements. If she was going to do it, that’s how she would do it.”

The Princess, as Colonel of the Irish Guards, would normally have joined St Patrick’s Day celebrations on Sunday to present the traditional sprig of shamrock. In her absence, 250 Irish Guardsmen gave three cheers for their absent colonel during a parade at Mons Barracks in Hampshire. The guards were led by their mascot, a three-year-old Irish Wolfhound Turlough Mor, also known as Seamus, on the parade square at the Aldershot barracks.