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The Prince and Princess of Wales should take steps to reassure the public after an outpouring of concern following her "planned abdominal surgery" on January 16, a British news show has heard.
The last time the public saw Kate was on Christmas Day, with the Kensington Palace issuing only two statements on her health so far.
The first, issued on January 17, announced that she had undergone "planned abdominal surgery" and was expected to be absent from public life until after Easter. The second statement, released two weeks later, revealed that she had been discharged from the hospital to continue her recovery at home and was "making good progress."
Now, midway through the estimated recovery period and two months since her last public appearance, the palace should consider reassuring the public that everything is ok, Newsweek's chief royal correspondent, Jack Royston, told Sky News anchor Kay Burley on Thursday.
"[The Princess of Wales] is still recovering, we still haven't seen her, we still haven't seen a picture of her," he said.
"I am starting to wonder if it might be worth their while considering whether they could release something that had been taken at a calm private moment, just to reassure people that she is ok."
This, Royston suggested, could "keep the rumor mill from spinning."
Newsweek reached out to Kensington Palace via email for comment.
Since the announcement of Kate's surgery was made, speculative press reports and social media posts have examined potential causes for the medical intervention, which has not been officially revealed.
This interest is something that the palace openly acknowledged in their initial announcement, though they made efforts to reduce it by stating Kate's own wish that her medical information remains private.
"The Princess of Wales appreciates the interest this statement will generate," the palace said on January 17. "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.
"Kensington Palace will, therefore, only provide updates on Her Royal Highness' progress when there is significant new information to share."
A short update provided on January 29 read: "The Princess of Wales has returned home to Windsor to continue her recovery from surgery. She is making good progress.
"The Prince and Princess wish to say a huge thank you to the entire team at The London Clinic, especially the dedicated nursing staff, for the care they have provided. The Wales family continues to be grateful for the well wishes they have received from around the world."
So far, there have been no further updates on how Kate's recovery is progressing or any underlying medical condition. This is despite William recently resuming his public appearances after putting them on pause while his wife settled at their home in Windsor.
On Sunday, the prince apologized for Kate's absence at the annual BAFTA Film Awards, an engagement the couple usually attends together.
"I'm sorry Catherine isn't here," he told an official. "She does love the BAFTAs as well."
He went on to add that this year he had watched the fewest nominated pictures than ever. "All the ones I watch she watches with me, so we go through them and carefully watch them," he said, suggesting that this year he "had other things" on his mind.
In addition to Kate's surgery and recovery, the monarchy has faced another medical issue in King Charles III's cancer diagnosis.
The monarch is undergoing a course of treatment for the illness and held an in-person audience with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday.
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter, based in London. You can find him on X (formerly Twitter) at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.
Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.
About the writer
James Crawford-Smith is a Newsweek Royal Reporter, based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on the British royal family ... Read more