Kensington Palace releases first picture of Princess of Wales days after her surgery to celebrate Mother's Day

Monday, March 11, 2024 – Kensington Palace has released the first picture of Kate since her surgery as the Princess of Wales thanked the public for their support in her Mother's Day message.

Princess Kate, 42, was pictured with her three children, Prince George, Prince Louis and Princess Charlotte, in a photo taken by her husband, Prince William.

'Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the last two months. Wishing everyone a Happy Mother's Day,' the Princess of Wales said, signing off the message with a 'C' for Catherine.

Kate has stepped back from royal duties since being admitted to The London Clinic for 'planned abdominal surgery' on January 16.

The mother-of-three stayed away from royal engagements since the Christmas Day church service at Sandringham.

Kensington Palace confirmed Kate's surgery was successful and on January 29, it was announced she had been discharged and went home to Windsor.

Last Monday, she was photographed for the first time since the medical procedure after US gossip website TMZ published pictures of her being driven around Windsor with her mother, Carole Middleton.

Ms Middleton's brother and Kate's uncle, Gary Goldsmith then revealed on Celebrity Big Brother that her niece was getting the 'best care in the world'.

Love Island winner Ekin-Su Culculoglu asked Goldsmith on Wednesday's episode: 'Where's Kate?'

He replied: 'Because she doesn't want to talk about... The last thing I'm going to do is... there's a kind of code of etiquette. If it's announced, I'll give you an opinion.'

Kate's 'black sheep' uncle added: 'I spoke to her mum, my sister, she's getting the best care in the world.

'And all the family's done is put the wagons round and look after the family first before anything else. They put a statement out and just said ‘She’s taking some time to recoup and will see you in Easter'.'