The British Royal Family: A Timeline of the Past Months
For months, almost all eyes have been fixated on the ebb and flow of the British royal family, with King Charles III and Catherine, Princess of Wales in the spotlight due to health concerns.
But lately, the extended absence of Catherine, aka Kate, has sparked a flood of rumors among the public about her whereabouts, ultimately leaving the public still searching for answers.
Here’s a quick timeline of the key moments to help you catch up.
December 25, 2023
Kate makes her final public appearance.
Kate’s last official public appearance was on Christmas Day, when she attended a church service at St. Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham, Norfolk, England.
She was photographed wearing head-to-toe royal blue as she walked to church with her husband, Prince William, and their three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, as they routinely do every Christmas. The whole family coordinated in blue and green.
January 17, 2024
Kate undergoes surgery.
Just over three weeks later, on January 17, Kensington Palace announced that Kate had been admitted to the London Clinic for abdominal surgery. Officials provided few details about her health but said the surgery was successful and her condition was “not cancerous.” She was expected to stay in the hospital for a maximum of two weeks.
Hours later, Buckingham Palace announced that King Charles III would be treated for an enlarged prostate.
January 18, 2024
William visits Kate at the London Clinic.
The next day, William was photographed driving away from the hospital, where Kate was recovering from abdominal surgery.
January 29, 2024
Kate is released from the hospital.
Nearly two weeks later, Kate returned to Windsor, just outside London. Kensington Palace officials said she would recover at home for two to three months and would not resume her public duties until after Easter, in late March.
Unlike her father-in-law, King Charles III, who was photographed leaving the London Clinic after his procedure, there were no photos of Kate leaving the clinic.
February 5, 2024
King Charles is diagnosed with cancer.
Buckingham Palace officials announced in early February, just days after Charles underwent treatment for an enlarged prostate, that the king had been diagnosed with cancer.
The palace did not share what form of cancer Charles has, but a palace official said it was not prostate cancer. Doctors had discovered the cancer during the earlier procedure.
March 4, 2024
Kate is spotted for the first time in months.
The public’s relentless appetite for information about Kate’s whereabouts and recovery reached a fever pitch in the first week of March. And around that time, TMZ published a grainy paparazzi shot of Kate riding in a car driven by her mother.
It was the first time Kate had been seen since her hospital stay. Despite the photo circulating on the internet, British newspapers and broadcasters did not republish it, citing Kate’s request for privacy during her recovery – although they did report on the sighting.
March 10, 2024
Kate and children appear in Mother’s Day photo.
To mark Mother’s Day in Britain, almost two months after her abdominal surgery, Kensington Palace has released an official photo of a smiling Kate surrounded by her three children, George, Charlotte and Louis. The palace did not provide many details about the photo, other than to say it was taken by William last week in Windsor, where the family lives in Adelaide Cottage, in the grounds of Windsor Castle.
Although the photo was intended to highlight a happy family during the holidays and dispel rumors, the photo became the subject of intense scrutiny after The Associated Press and several other photo agencies issued a “kill order,” asking their customers to remove the photo from all photos. platforms over concerns that they had been manipulated. The New York Times, which had initially used the photo in a story, also removed it.
March 11, 2024
Kate apologizes for the altered family photo.
On Monday, Kate took the blame and apologized for the Mother’s Day photo fiasco.
“Like many amateur photographers, I occasionally experiment with montage,” she said on social media. “I wanted to apologize for any confusion the family photo we shared yesterday caused.”
Kate is known as a photography enthusiast and the palace often distributes her photos of the family. Palace officials emphasized that Kate had made minor adjustments to what was intended to be an informal family photo taken by William.