The latest royal statement addresses all the Kate Middleton speculation.

Kensington Palace has shared a rare statement about Kate Middleton's recovery from surgery following a surge in speculation about her whereabouts.

"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. That guideline stands," a spokesperson said, reiterating that Kate was "doing well".

Kate underwent abdominal surgery in January and will return to public events after Easter.

Online concern for Kate grew this week, following her husband Prince William's late withdrawal from a memorial service at Windsor Castle for his godfather, the late King Constantine of Greece, due to an 'unspecified personal reason'.

At the time, Kensington Palace said the prince unfortunately could no longer attend because of a personal matter but didn't give any further detail.

It's rare but not unheard of for royals to pull out of engagements. William recently postponed official duties to help care for wife and their three children after she underwent surgery but he was forced to return earlier than planned after his father King Charles cancer diagnosis.

Unsurprisingly, questions about whether William's withdrawal was related to his wife's condition very quickly took off among royal watchers.

Kate's disappearance has become the topic of conspiracies on social media, flared by a Spanish journalist reporting in early February that she was in a coma. The Palace called this "ludicrous and not fact-checked".

Royal watchers have floated theories ranging from silly (she is growing out bangs, for example) to more sinister.

Kate underwent surgery on January 16 and spent 12 days in hospital before returning home, according to a statement from Kensington Palace at the end of January.

Unlike her father-in-law, who has been seen multiple times since his own cancer operation, Kate has not been seen publicly since Christmas Day.

Kate Middleton, Prince William and family on Christmas Day 2023. Image: Getty. 

The Palace said when announcing her surgery that Kate wished for privacy and it would "only provide updates on Her Royal Highness' progress when there is significant new information to share."

"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," it said.

This has done little to stop the rumours, theories and opinions, however. #WhereIsKate has trended on social media multiple times since, and royal watchers have pointed out how respectful the British press have been of the family's requests — a stark contrast to how Meghan Markle was treated, for example.

Attempting to quell the chatter after needing to share William's withdrawal from the memorial service, Kensington Palace again shared a small update on Kate.

"The Princess of Wales continues to be doing well," it said. It did not elaborate further.

It reiterated "doing well" in the most recent statement too.

In a further blow for the family, on February 27 Buckingham Palace announced the death of Thomas Kingston. 

Kingston was the husband of Lady Gabriella Windsor, the daughter of the Queen's cousin Prince Michael of Kent (this makes her William's third cousin). Kingston died aged 45 on February 25.

Kingston's parents-in-law, Prince Michael of Kent and Princess Michael, were both in attendance at King Constantine's memorial, despite their son-in-law's death less than 48 hours earlier.

In a sad coincidence, Lady Gabriella was William's official representative at King Constantine's funeral in January 2023 as he also could not make that.

According to The Telegraph, William's absence from the memorial was not related to Kingston's death.

William returned to public duties on February 29, visiting a London synagogue.

This article was originally published on February 28 and has been updated.

Feature image: Getty.

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