Princess Kate health: Full timeline of abdominal surgery as royal prepares to make return

When Princess Kate made her most recent public appearance with the rest of the Royal Family last Christmas at Sandringham, little did anyone know what would happen next.

Just a few weeks later it emerged that the Princess of Wales had undergone abdominal surgery, and although the exact nature of her condition has never been revealed her lengthy recovery time has led to heightened speculation.

Kensington Palace has said Kate is expected to be back at work after Easter, with reports suggesting her return won’t be until after her children’s Easter holiday ends in mid-April.

She is also considering attending the Easter Sunday church service with the rest of the Wales family, but no decision has yet been made.

Here Express.co.uk takes a look back at the whole timeline of the story, as the Princess prepares to make her return to the frontline of royal duties.

Princess Kate was last seen in public with the Royal Family last Christmas Day at Sandringham, when she was seen walking with Prince William and their children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.

Dressed in a royal blue Alexander McQueen outfit, Kate kept up the tradition of attending the Christmas morning church service at St Mary Magdalene on the Sandringham estate.

The Princess looked happy and relaxed with the rest of the royals, just 22 days before she went into hospital to have her operation.

On January 17 Kensington Palace put out a statement confirming Kate had undergone abdominal surgery at The London Clinic in Marylebone the day before.

It read: “Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales was admitted to The London Clinic yesterday for planned abdominal surgery.

“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 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.”

Later that day, Buckingham Palace revealed that King Charles is due to undergo surgery for a benign enlarged prostate.

Less than two weeks later, on January 29, the Princess of Wales was officially discharged from hospital and returned home to Windsor to recuperate.

A Kensington Palace spokesman said: “The Princess of Wales has returned home to Windsor to continue her recovery from surgery. She is making good progress.

“The Prince and Princess wish to say a huge thank you to the entire team at The London Clinic, especially the dedicated nursing staff, for the care they have provided. The Wales family continues to be grateful for the well wishes they have received from around the world.”

That morning Kate’s personal assistant Natasha Archer was seen driving away from the clinic, with a second car following behind seen with a huge flower arrangement on the front seat.

For the February half term, Kate and William are understood to have taken the children to Anmer Hall, their country bolthole in Norfolk on the Sandringham estate.

The trip was a reassuring sign that the future Queen was on the mend.

Anmer Hall was where the family was based between 2015 and 2017, but now it is where they go to get away from the rest of the world and enjoy some quality time together.

During the school holidays King Charles was also at Sandringham where he has been resting in-between his cancer treatments, meaning he hopefully saw plenty of his grandchildren too.

As Kate continued to make progress in her recovery, a picture was released of her and her three children, George, Charlotte and Louis to celebrate Mother’s Day on March 11.

However by the end of the day several picture agencies were putting out kill orders on the image over fears it had been doctored, leading to fevered speculation as to what was going on behind Palace doors.

In a statement the following day Kate apologised for any “confusion” caused by the edited picture, as she said: “Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing.

“I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused. I hope everyone celebrating had a very happy Mother’s Day. C.”

Things have begun to look more positive for Kate as she was seen visiting a farm shop near the family home, Adelaide Cottage in Windsor.

Accompanied by William, the Princess is said to have been looking “happy and relaxed”, according to The Sun, as she visited the shop in a private capacity on Saturday March 16.

It is thought the royal couple spent the morning watching their three children playing sports, with a witness at the shop saying: “After all the rumours that had been going round I was stunned to see them there. Kate was out shopping with William and she looked happy and she looked well.

“The kids weren’t with them but it’s such a good sign she was healthy enough to pop down to the shops.”

At the beginning of the month pictures surfaced in the US of Kate apparently sitting in the front seat of a car being driven by her mother Carole Middleton, possibly on the school run in Windsor.

With the Princess clearly on the mend, many royal experts have questioned whether she could appear at this year’s royal Easter Sunday church service on March 31.

According to The Telegraph, Kate has not yet made a decision on whether she will attend the service, which will be held in Windsor close to her home.

If she does attend it will mark the first time she has appeared in public this year, although church on Easter Sunday is still considered a private family event rather than an official duty.

Kensington Palace has said it will be a matter for Kate to decide herself when she feels well enough to return to work.

In their original statement Kensington Palace did not give an exact date that Kate would be back at work, but said it would be sometime “after Easter”.

Writing in The Times, royal correspondent Roya Nikkhah clarified that the future Queen will most likely resume her duties after her children go back to school following the Easter holidays on April 17.

Kate and William typically take school holidays off to spend time with their children.

Speaking about when Kate does return, a royal source told the publication: “They are at their most open when out interacting with members of the public and I can see a world in which the princess might discuss her recovery out on engagements. If she was going to do it, that’s how she would do it.”