The Princess of Wales had an idyllic childhood, with her sister, Pippa Middleton, sharing details of how they spent their school days, but one thing the royal never talks about is the operation she underwent as a child.
Princess Kate has a three-inch scar running along her temple on the left-hand side of her head, which caused royal watchers to speculate over how she sustained the injury, with some suggesting she was injured in a hockey match.
Keen to put rumours to bed, a spokesperson for Kensington Palace told E! News in 2011: "The scar is related to a childhood operation."
No further details were given and Princess Kate has never spoken about undergoing surgery in her childhood.
Princess Kate's scar is visible beneath her hairline
Since stepping into the spotlight amid her romance with Prince William, Princess Kate has been the picture of health, only publicly admitted to hospital while pregnant due to extreme morning sickness.
Princess Kate differs from other royals in this way, with everyone from Lady Louise Windsor to Sophie Wessex hospitalised several times for both injuries and operations.
The Princess of Wales' scar is similar to one her husband, Prince William, has on his forehead, sustained in a golfing accident in childhood.
Prince William also has a scar on his forehead
During a game of golf at his school in Wokingham in 1991, the future king was hit on the head by a golf club while playing with his school friends. The hapless accident resulted in a fractured skull that saw the then eight-year-old undergoing a 70-minute operation at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, followed by an overnight stay.
William's mother, Princess Diana stayed with him overnight, and the following morning, his brother Prince Harry was his first visitor, spending 15 minutes chatting before heading to school.
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Prince William spoke about his injury 18 years later, during a chat with a 10-year-old cancer patient for BBC's Newsround.
"I got hit by a golf club when I was playing golf with a friend of mine," the royal said. "We were on a putting green and the next thing you know there was a seven-iron and it came out of nowhere and it hit me in the head."
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He went on to explain that his scar sometimes 'glows' like Harry Potter's famous lightning bolt scar on his forehead.
"It glows sometimes and some people notice it - other times they don't notice it at all."
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