Kensington Palace made headlines last week as it issued a rare announcement to confirm that the Princess of Wales had undergone abdominal surgery.
It has also been confirmed that the royal couple will be pausing their official duties in the immediate aftermath of Kate's operation, with the Princess of Wales not expected to return to royal duties for three months.
"Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales was admitted to hospital yesterday for planned abdominal surgery," read the official statement from Kensington Palace. "The surgery was successful and it is expected that she will remain in hospital for ten to fourteen days, before returning home to continue her recovery. Based on the current medical advice, she is unlikely to return to public duties until after Easter."
The statement continued: “The Princess of Wales appreciates the interest this statement will generate. She hopes that the public will understand her desire to maintain as much normality for her children as possible; and her wish that her personal medical information remains private. Kensington Palace will, therefore, only provide updates on Her Royal Highness’ progress when there is significant new information to share."
Prince William has been on hand to care for his wife, spotted visiting the London Clinic in the days after her surgery. However, the Wales children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis have not been present, nor are they expected to be during her 10-14 days in hospital.
This is thought to be due to the Princess' want to "maintain as much normality" as possible for her children. And in the meantime, before she is able to come home, it is thought that the Princess of Wales has been FaceTiming her children regularly - something that she does to keep in touch whenever she's working overseas.
“Kate loves FaceTiming the children when she is working away overseas," Emily Nash told The New York Post. "So I’m sure they will be in regular contact while she’s in the hospital, and the kids will be keen to see her as soon as she’s well enough."
We will continue to update this story.
