Prince William comments on Kate Middleton during official visit: 'She needs to be sat here to hear this'

When will we see Kate Middleton again? Since it was revealed that she had been hospitalised on 17 January after an operation on her abdomen, the Princess of Wales, 42, began a very discreet period of convalescence, away from the public eye.

Wishing to maintain as much 'normality' as possible for her three children George, Charlotte and Louis, she made her wishes known in an official statement that she would not return until after the Easter holidays. The prolonged absence obviously puzzled royal watchers and fans, who were left wondering whether Prince William's wife was hiding more serious health problems.

In March 2024, it was revealed that, she did indeed suffer from more worrying health issues but that these were only discovered through the abdominal surgery.

Kate Middleton remained very discreet

The publication of a crudely retouched photo on Mother's Day 2024 only served to heighten public suspicion. Kate Middleton took pains to apologise, explaining on social media that:

Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing. I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused.

However, this was not enough to quell the controversy. At the time though, it seemed like it was enough to dissuade her from making public appearances any time soon, and it was maintained that she was not due back to work until at least 17 April, after her three children's school holidays.

Kate Middleton controversies

Even before the Mother's Day portrait was released many rumours and conspiracy theories were going around. One of the biggest came straight from Spain. Concha Calleja, a journalist who has also written books on the Royal Family alleged that the Princess had been places in a coma.

Her allegations went even further and she stated that the 'post-operative period didn't go so well'. Of course, these reports were quickly put to rest by other royal experts... an easy task since they were so clearly unfounded.

Kate Middleton releases video

However, the controversy surrounding her and the reason behind the photoshopping a the family portrait forced the Princess to release a video on the Prince and Princess of Wales Instagram account.

In the video she revealed the cause of her absence and explained that she would continue to take time to recover.

Prince William is supporting his wife

While waiting for Kate Middleton to return to the limelight, her husband, Prince William, started getting to work on official visits alone. On Tuesday 19 March, he travelled to Sheffield to take part in a conference on homelessness. While there, Prince Harry's brother chatted with Kate Joseph, Chief Executive of Sheffield City Council, to whom he slipped a sweet comment about his wife Kate Middleton, as reported by the Telegraph.

I'm venturing into my wife's territory here. She needs to be sat here to hear this.

Prince William expressed how this issue is very close to Kate Middleton's heart. The issue of homelessness was also something Prince William inherited from Princess Diana.

Prince William reassures the public

On 18 April 2024, Prince William made his first ever public appearance ever since the Princess of Wales revealed her shocking diagnosis. The Independent reports that the Prince went to Surrey and West London to 'help publicise community and environmental impact organisations'.

The UK publication continued to explained that the Prince was given "Get Well Soon' cards for both his wife and father and that he appeared really touched by them. BBC News reports that when a volunteer handed him the cards she told the royal:

take care of her

To which he answered, simply:

I will

This article has been adapted from Voici.

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Sources used:

Telegraph: Catherine would have liked to be sitting here, Prince William suggests on royal visit

Independent: Kate apologises over editing family photo as royals under pressure to release undoctored image

Daily Mail: Prince William makes sweet remark about wanting Kate by his side during visit to housing project in Sheffield - amid hope video of Princess looking 'happy and relaxed' will end weeks of speculation about her health

Prince William: Prince William promises to ‘look after’ Kate at first royal event since her cancer diagnosis

BBC News: William given get well soon cards for Kate on his return to duty