Kate, Princess of Wales, underwent abdominal surgery and is set to stay in hospital for 14 days. In a statement, Kensington Palace revealed that the princess apologised for postponing planned engagements, but added that she is not expected to return to royal duties until “after Easter”.
While the length of Kate’s hospital stay and recovery time indicates the seriousness of her condition, it is understood to not be cancer-related.
This is not the first time the royal has had to visit the hospital. The 42-year-old is known to love the outdoors and leads an active life. This has lead to various accidents in the past.
Here, Express.co.uk takes a look at the Princess of Wales’s past injuries.
Kate’s most recent is her abdominal surgery which took place on Tuesday, January 16. The surgery was planned and successful, Kensington Palace said in a statement.
The royal mother of three will be recovering at London Clinic, Britain’s largest private independent hospital. Police officers have been photographed outside the building as the announcement was made.
A statement from the Palace added that Kate hopes to recover in private: “She hopes that the public will understand her desire to maintain as much normality for her children as possible.”
After her stay in the hospital, Kate will spend the rest of her recovery, which is expected to last three months, at her home in Adelaide Cottage.
Her husband Prince William has also rescheduled his engagements in order to support Kate while she is in hospital. It is believed William will undertake fewer royal duties as his wife recovers.
Last year the princess attended a royal engagement and shocked many when she was spotted with two fingers bandaged up following a trampoline accident.
Last October the future Queen joined the World Cup-winning England Wheelchair Rugby League’s training session and revealed she had injured her right hand in September.
At the time, before the match, Kate said: “I’m worried about my finger, but willing to try.”
She had injured her hand while playing on the trampoline with her three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis.
Kensington Palace confirmed at the time that it was “a small injury, nothing serious”, according to People. They added that “following her minor hand injury recently, it was taped up as a bit of a precaution”.
The princess also has a scar on her left temple under her hair relating to a childhood operation.
It may come as a surprise to many as Kate never speaks about this, but the princess underwent an operation as a child.
The royal has a three-inch scar on her temple on the left side of her head, though it is hardly ever noticeable.
However, some eagle-eyed royal watchers suggested that it may have been from a childhood hockey injury, as the future Queen was an avid player.
But a Kensington Palace spokesperson put the speculations to bed and told E! in 2011: “The scar is related to a childhood operation.”
No further details have been revealed about the operation or the scar.
With all of her pregnancies, Princess Kate suffered from hyperemesis gravidarum, a form of severe morning sickness. The condition causes severe nausea, vomiting, weight loss, and dehydration and affects between 0.5 and 3 percent of pregnant women.
There is no cure for the condition as it is still pretty unclear what causes it. What is clear is that if a woman suffers from hyperemesis gravidarum during one of her pregnancies, she will likely experience it again in future pregnancies.
In 2020, the royal mother opened up about her pregnancy experience when interviewed for Happy Mum, Happy Baby Podcast.
She said that hyperemesis gravidarum made being pregnant more of “a challenge”. Speaking to host Giovanna Fletcher at the time, Kate added: “It was fine. I got very bad morning sickness, so I’m not the happiest of pregnant people.”
“Have you had it every time or just the first time?” the best-selling author asked.
“Yes, unfortunately. Lots of people have it far, far worse, but it was definitely a challenge,” Kate said.
“Not just for me but also for your loved ones around you – and I think that’s the thing – being pregnant and having a newborn baby and things like that, impacts everybody in the family.”
