The Princess of Wales is recovering from a successful planned abdominal surgery, Kensington Palace has announced. Kate is expected to spend the next ten to 14 days at The London Clinic where she was admitted on Tuesday – so who is looking after her children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis?
Prince William is, of course, expected to be caring for the couple's three young children. Like Kate who has cancelled her upcoming engagements, it wouldn't be a surprise if William also postponed a number of appearances to be at his wife's side and to also support their kids.
He is not expected to carry out royal duties while Kate is in hospital and during her immediate recovery at home in Windsor.
William is also likely to have the support of the children's nanny, Maria Teresa Turrion Borrallo, as well as Kate's parents, Carole and Michael Middleton, who are very hands-on with ten-year-old George, eight-year-old Charlotte, and five-year-old Louis. The Middletons live in Bucklebury village about 40 minutes' drive away from the Wales' family home, Adelaide Cottage.
Spanish nanny Maria, who studied at the prestigious Norland College in Bath, has worked for the royals since 2014 when George was eight months old.
At the time, an insider told HELLO! that Maria had "worked for other high-profile families and it was from there that the Cambridges heard of her and hired her".
They added: "She is not married and doesn't have a boyfriend, as her life is totally dedicated to the family she is working with. She is known for being totally professional – married to the job."
Meanwhile, Carole, 68, has previously opened up about how hands-on she is as a grandmother.
"I want to run down the hills, climb the trees and go through the tunnel at the playground," she told Good Housekeeping. "As long as I am able to, that's what I'll be doing. I cook with them, I muck around dancing, we go on bike rides."
Kensington Palace announced the Princess' health news on Wednesday, saying in part in a statement: "Based on the current medical advice, she is unlikely to return to public duties until after Easter. 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.
"The Princess of Wales wishes to apologise to all those concerned for the fact that she has to postpone her upcoming engagements. She looks forward to reinstating as many as possible, as soon as possible."
HELLO!'s royal editor Emily Nash said: "This has come as a shock at a time when most of us were expecting to see the Princess back in action with a busy schedule of engagements lined up.
"It means that neither she or William will be on public duty in the next few weeks and Kate is unlikely to be back at work before Easter. Similarly, William wants to be at her side and with their children until she's settled back at home, so a lot of diary events are being postponed.
"Obviously everyone wishes her well and is hoping for a speedy recovery."
It's understood that Kate's condition is non-cancerous.
It's unlikely that there will be any international travel for the Waleses in the coming months. Previous reports had suggested that William and Kate were due to visit Italy in an official capacity this spring.