The Princess of Wales has been recovering from abdominal surgery for the past two months, however, her absence has ended up sparking many rumours about her exact condition.
Speculation intensified after Kensington Palace shared an edited photo of the royal with her three children on Mother's Day, which Kate later apologised for. The Sunday Times has now reported that due to the public speculation surrounding her absence, the royal might address her health when she makes a return to royal duties, which the publication reports could be around 17 April.
The newspaper further adds that the Prince and Princess of Wales are at their most "open" when interacting with members of the public, which could be why Kate may open up about her health.
It also reported that despite the furore over Kate's Mother's Day photo, the family is planning on releasing a photo for Prince Louis' sixth birthday on 23 April. However, it hasn't been decided whether the Princess, who has often taken photos of her children for special events, will be the one snapping the image.
Kate has only been spotted twice since she underwent surgery on 16 January; once when being driven around by her mum, Carole Middleton, and a second time when she was with her husband after her the controversy erupted over her Mother's Day photo. According to The Sunday Times, the Princess has also recently been seen at Lambrook.
Kensington Palace has rubbished rumours about the royal's absence with a spokesperson for Kate, saying: "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."
The report from the Sunday Times about Kate returning on 17 April means that the Princess of Wales is likely to miss the Easter Sunday service that the royal family typically attends in Windsor. Easter Sunday this year falls on 31 March.
Earlier in the month, royal author Robert Jobson exclusively shared with HELLO! that while Kate was "recovering well" she wasn't completely better.
"From what I hear, Kate has got into a routine again and is functioning well, but she doesn't want to rush things," he told us. "I have spoken to people close to her and I think she is recovering well but is not quite a hundred per cent."
Robert, who also made reference to King Charles' cancer diagnosis and ongoing treatment, added: "The King was looking to make the royal family more focused on the main four and having two of the star people out of the picture makes that more difficult, so I'm sure she will be welcomed back with open arms when she's well enough to return to royal duties.
"She must be looking forward to that, but she also feels lucky to be able to have this time with the children and to put her recovery first."
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