Kate Middleton to stay in the hospital after surgery – doctor says it can take months before she can “move around normally”
On Wednesday, Kensington Palace announced that Kate Middleton has undergone a planned abdominal surgery at a private hospital in London. The operation was successful, and the Princess of Wales will now remain in hospital for ten to 14 days and is likely not to return to royal duties until after Easter.
The bombshell news has royal fans worried about the Princess of Wales’ health. The abdominal surgery was successful, and hours after Kensington Palace released the news, several news outlets reported on how the princess is rumored to be doing.
An extended period of resting and recovery now awaits Kate. But the fact that she is staying for such a long time in the hospital could sadly mean the coming months will be very challenging, according to a doctor.
The Kensington Palace statement released Wednesday was a bombshell in the royal world and for fans worldwide. Princess of Wales is set to stay at the private London Clinic for ten to 14 days after undergoing a planned abdominal surgery. Also, she is “unlikely” to return to public duties until after Easter.
Princess Kate in hospital after abdominal surgery
Meanwhile, Kate apologized for postponing upcoming events.
“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 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 statement from Kensington Palace read on its social media pages.
“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.”
The statement continued: “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 she has to postpone her upcoming engagements. She looks forward to reinstating as many as possible, as soon as possible.”
On social media, many royal fans shared their concerns for Kate, wishing her a speedy recovery.
Kate to stay at the hospital
“Feel better soon, Catherine. Even while she’s not well, she’s worried about everything going on around her. You take care of you and I’m sure people understand the need to respect your privacy for your children. They would want the same for their own,” one wrote.
Another added: “Prayers for a successful recovery for the Princess of Wales and for her lovely family as they navigate this difficult time.”
A third said: “My thoughts and prayers are with her and her whole family.”
“14 days is a long stay, hope she’s ok,” another stated.
Luckily, the reason for Kate’s planned abdominal surgery is said to be “non-cancerous.” Moreover, on Thursday, reports states that the princess is doing “well.”
Once discharged from the hospital, Kate Middleton is expected to recover at her family home in Windsor, where she and Prince William relocated to in 2022 from London.
While Kate is recovering, it’s understood that Prince William will also cut down on his public engagements. This is to better help care for the couple’s three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis.
While Kate is at the hospital, William will not be on official duty. According to The Sun, the Prince of Wales was supposed to visit British troops abroad, but the “top-secret” plan has now been postponed. Meanwhile, the couple was supposed to visit Italy and its capital, Rome – where they possibly would’ve met the Pope – but that has also been called off.
“She doesn’t want us to know…”
Princess Kate has to take a step back regarding her major projects, such as the Shaping Us initiative, as she recovers. Also, they will take on fewer duties during Mental Health Awareness Week next month, during which they are expected to be heavily featured in marketing campaigns.
In an interview with GB News, royal expert Jennie Bond said her “jaw dropped” when she read the statement, saying it was a “shock.”
“We’re told it was a planned procedure, that it was an abdominal problem, that it is not cancer,” Bond said. “But to be in hospital for two weeks and then to go recover for up to two or three months and have a full diary canceled means it may have been planned, but not for a very long time.”
Further, the royal expert says Kate Middleton is doing the right thing in not releasing her medical details,
“I have no idea what it is she doesn’t want us to know at this stage, but I do know that she will want to be back home with her family and her children as soon as possible. And so that makes it all more surprising that she may not be back home for a fortnight,” she continued.
“Prince William is going to divide his time between looking after the children and being at his wife’s bedside, and therefore he won’t be carrying out public engagements either.”
William supported by nanny with taking care of the children
While William will take on more responsibility regarding looking after George, Charlotte, and Louis, he won’t do it alone.
As they have for many years, the prince and princess will get assistance from the children’s nanny, Maria Teresa Turrion Borrallo.
Borrallo has been with William and Kate since 2014. The nanny began caring for George when he was only eight months old.
“She is not married and doesn’t have a boyfriend, as her life is totally dedicated to the family she is working with. She is known for being totally professional – married to the job,” an insider told Hello Magazine.
Borrallo was trained at the prestigious Norland College in Bath. She makes all the decisions at home regarding the children, keeping with William and Kate’s outlined wishes.
A royal insider previously said, “Maria is firm, but she never acts unilaterally with the children on discipline. Kate and William, along with Maria, are strict with the children but have this magic ability to appear not to be.”
The Princess of Wales has previously shared her thoughts on staying in hospitals, referring to them as not “places she wanted to hang around in.”
Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis to visit Kate
Kate Middleton spoke about the memories of extreme morning sickness after she gave birth to George.
“I think, yeah, I did stay in hospital overnight. I remember it was one of the hottest days and night with huge thunderstorms, so I didn’t get a huge amount of sleep, but George did, which was really great,” the princess said.
She added, “I was keen to get home because, for me, being in hospital, I had all the memories of being in hospital because of being sick so it wasn’t a place I wanted to hang around in. So, I was really desperate to get home and get back to normality.”
Having a parent in the hospital must be scary; most likely, the same goes for Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis.
On X (formerly known as Twitter), royal expert Cameron Walker has given an update on William and Kate and their children.
“Good morning from a (very cold) Kensington Palace. I understand The Princess if “doing well” having spent her second night in hospital, following abdominal surgery,” he wrote.
“Prince William was looking after their children at home last night. Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis were at school all day yesterday and are yet to visit their mother in hospital.”
Doctor says Kate might not be able to “move around normally” for months
As mentioned, Kate Middleton is set to stay at the private London Clinic for ten to 14 days. But why can’t she go home earlier? According to an expert, there are many reasons why the princess must stay.
Dr Deborah Lee from Dr Fox Online Pharmacy told Express that it all depends on what type of surgery Kate has undergone. Meanwhile, alarming news is that the Princess of Wales might have difficulty performing simple tasks in the coming months.
“For abdominal surgery, most people stay in the hospital for four to seven days. After laparoscopic surgery [a type of keyhole surgery], this is reduced to two to four days,” she said.
“It very much depends on what exactly has been done. If a patient needs to go to ITU, it’s likely their hospital stay would be considerably longer. It can take two months or more for the patient to feel comfortable and be able to move around normally afterward.”
This is not the first time Kate Middleton has had surgery. As a child, she had a three-inch scar on the left side of her head. The scar was first spotted at a private dinner at Clarence House in 2011 when Kate conducted her first solo royal engagement.
Later, an official statement explained that “the scar related to a childhood operation,” however details remained private.
Kate previously had “serious operation” for alleged birthmark
Sources told the Daily Mail that it had been “a very serious operation,” while surgeons said it was unlikely the result of a tumor but instead that the scar was caused by a birthmark being removed.
As mentioned, Kate isn’t quite a fan of hospitals. When she gave birth to George, she had extreme morning sickness, but she managed to get through it.
Speaking on Giovanna Fletcher’s Happy Mum Happy Baby podcast, the Princess of Wales revealed that she began meditating and deep breathing – which helped.
“I saw the power of it really, the meditation and the deep breathing and things like that, that they teach you in hypnobirthing, when I was really sick,” she said. “I got very bad morning sickness, so I’m not the happiest of pregnant people.”
The podcast host Giovanna Fletcher later asked, “Have you had it every time or just the first time?”
“Yes, unfortunately,” Kate responded. “Lots of people have it far, far worse, but it was definitely a challenge. 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.”