Princess Kate, wife of the heir to the British crown William, has left London hospital where she had been hospitalized since January 16 for abdominal surgery, Kensington Palace announced on Monday.
“The Princess of Wales has returned to her home in Windsor (west London) to continue her convalescence after her operation. She is making good progress,” the palace statement said. “The Prince and Princess would like to warmly thank the entire team at the London Clinic, in particular the dedicated nursing staff, for the care provided,” he added.
A spokesperson for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak hailed it as “great news for the royal family, and I am sure, the general public”.
No official engagement for the Crown until Easter
On January 17, the announcement of the hospitalization of Kate, 42, for “abdominal surgery” surprised the United Kingdom, especially since the palace had not given details on the illness from which the wife of the heir to the British crown William. The monarchy had only leaked the fact that it was not cancer.
The palace had specified that she would stay 10 to 14 days in hospital, a relatively long duration which had sparked much speculation in the British tabloids, of which the princess often makes the front page.
Kate will now spend her convalescence at her home in Windsor – where the Prince and Princess of Wales moved in 2022 with their three children, George, 10, Charlotte, 8, and Louis, 5, to get away from the hustle and bustle of London.
During this period, expected to last at least until Easter on March 31, the Princess will not perform any official commitments for the Crown.
Charles still hospitalized
During her 13 days in hospital, the princess received a visit from her husband William, who lightened his schedule to give priority to his family. If other members of the royal family – such as Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh and wife of Prince Edward, the king’s brother – have taken over from William and Kate, the withdrawal of the star princely couple, adored by the tabloids and very popular with the British, leaves a void in the royalty’s busy public agenda.
King Charles III also came to greet Kate last Friday, when he was admitted to the same swanky central London clinic to undergo scheduled prostate surgery. The 75-year-old monarch, who succeeded Elizabeth II in September 2022, suffers from an enlarged prostate, a benign pathology but which is the first health problem for the sovereign on which the palace communicates.
A transparency that contrasts with the secrecy that surrounded his mother’s reign, particularly at the end of her life, when her health declined. Charles III was still at the London Clinic on Sunday, his wife Queen Camilla having been seen visiting him in the middle of the day.
The king had made this intervention public in order, according to the palace, to encourage the screening of this common pathology in men of a certain age. Shortly after his operation, the queen told people inside the clinic that he was “doing well”, according to British media. He too will have to observe “a short period” of convalescence after his operation, according to Buckingham Palace.