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Kate Middleton wearing blue jumper in Holland Park© Getty

Kensington Palace addresses social media speculation around Princess Kate's health

The Princess of Wales is recovering from abdominal surgery

Danielle Stacey
Online Royal CorrespondentLondon
Updated: February 29, 2024
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Kensington Palace has brushed off speculation surrounding the Princess of Wales's health following wild conspiracy theories on social media.

A spokesperson for Kate said: "We were very clear from the outset that the Princess of Wales was out until after Easter and Kensington Palace would only be providing updates when something was significant."

It comes after the Prince of Wales's last-minute absence from a thanksgiving service for the late King Constantine of Greece on Tuesday sparked speculation.

The Palace would only cite the reason as a "personal matter" while Kate was said to be "doing well" amid her recovery from abdominal surgery in January.

No further details of the Princess's condition have been given, but it has been confirmed to be non-cancerous.

The Princess was admitted to the private London Clinic on 16 January for surgery. She returned home to Windsor following a 13-day hospital stay.

Prince William temporarily stepped back from royal duties to care for his wife and their three children, Prince George, ten, Princess Charlotte, eight, and Prince Louis, five.

Kate's last public outing was with the royal family on Christmas Day.

Prince and Princess of Wales walk to church with their children© Getty
William and Kate with their children on Christmas Day

The Prince stepped out on Thursday to visit a synagogue where he said that he and his wife "are extremely concerned about the rise in antisemitism."

The future king's visit to the Western Marble Arch Synagogue came after he called for the fighting in the Israel-Hamas war to end "as soon as possible" and increased humanitarian support for Gaza, during a visit last week to the London headquarters of the British Red Cross.

Prince William speaking with young people at Western Marble Arch Synagogue© Getty
William met with young people, affected by anti-Semitism

William heard the personal testimony of the young people who spoke about how Jewish students across the country have been affected by the rise of hatred on the streets of Britain.

He told the youngsters: "Well, you’ve heard it from me, anti-Semitism has no place in society, you’ve heard that from me OK – I've said that before and I’ll say it again. And hearing all … your lived experiences both Catherine and I are extremely concerned about the rise in antisemitism that you guys have talked about so eloquently this morning, and I'm just so sorry you’ve had to experience that, it has no place and it shouldn't happen. So that's why I'm here today to reassure you all that people do care, people do listen and we can’t let that keep going."

LISTEN: King Charles gave Prince William ‘permission’ to spend time with family away from royal duties

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