Kate Middleton expected to make an official public appearance at Easter event

After the fortnight from hell, Princess Catherine’s next move is shaping up to be one of the most scrutinised royal appearances in history.

It is shaping up to be one of the most scrutinised royal appearances in history.

As speculation grows that Princess Catherine will make her much-awaited return to public life at the royal family’s Easter Sunday church service, one thing is for certain — all eyes will be on the mother-of-three if she joins the traditional walk through the grounds of Windsor Castle to St George’s Chapel.

It is a time-honoured stroll that the future queen and much-loved royal has undertaken at least ten times since marrying Prince William in 2011.

But with the House of Windsor facing a monumental PR crisis — the likes of which has not been since the dark days after Princess Diana’s tragic death — every aspect of Catherine’s being, from the physical to the emotional, will be dissected.

Princess Catherine and her family arrive at last year’s Easter Mattins Service at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle. Picture: AFP

Princess Catherine, on Easter Sunday in 2022, has attended the traditional service for years. Picture: Getty Images

After a fortnight from hell that has seen social media flooded with shocking conspiracy theories and the resurrection of painful affair claims, the Princess of Wales will be watched by millions as she makes her way to the traditional service.

According to British society bible Tatler, those familiar with royal routines have predicted that the Princess’s Easter Sunday appearance will be a “soft return” to public life, devoid of any huge announcements, rather than a big bang.

Dr Louise Mahler, author of the book Gravitas, said body language experts would be analysing Catherine’s smile, gait, gaze and potential weight loss after her surgery to detect signs of any “changes” when she makes her expected church service appearance.

All eyes will be on the Princess of Wales if she makes an appearance on Easter Sunday. Picture: AFP

The royal’s interactions with husband Prince William, including their eye contact with each other and the distance between them will also be closely examined, the body language and communication expert said.

“When we are dealing with a couple such as Will and Kate who are experienced in public, they are more skilled to hide what they are thinking,” she said.

“So one needs to watch very closely and see the immediate reactions, especially when they are taken off guard.”

Prince William and his wife are well-versed at hiding their true feelings in public. Picture: AFP

Since she underwent abdominal surgery in January for an undisclosed condition, the Princess of Wales’s health and wellbeing has been shrouded in total secrecy.

The shutters-down approach employed by Kensington Palace is the opposite of Buckingham Palace’s clear and consistent handling of King Charles’s prostate surgery and cancer diagnosis.

Although he has not revealed what type of cancer he is suffering from, the monarch has been transparent about his diagnosis and prostate operation, a move that was praised for raising awareness of men’s health issues.

King Charles has been open about his health issues. Picture: Royal Household via Getty Images

In contrast, the silence and mystery surrounding Catherine’s unknown health issues sparked countless conspiracy theories on social media including the claim that the woman in footage of Prince William and his wife at a farm shop was actually a body double.

To add to the never-ending list of recent woes, three staff members at the exclusive London Clinic have been accused of trying to access the ailing Princess’s privacy medical records and another image taken by the royal was dragged into the royal photo scandal.

Social media has been flooded with bizarre conspiracy theories about Princess Catherine. Picture: Getty Images

On top of this, allegations of an affair between Prince William and Lady Rose Hanbury made their way onto US TV, with chat show host Stephen Colbert using the claims as the butt of a comic skit.

Lady Rose broke her silence last week, issuing a statement through her lawyers which said suggestions she is involved with the future king “are completely false”, according to Business Insider.

Leading PR expert Nicole Reaney, the founder of InsideOut Public Relations, said the royal family’s “cryptic communication” during the long-drawn saga had led to the public taking over the royal brand narrative.

PR expert Nicole Reaney says a simple health update would have helped the royals avoid a crisis.

The doctored photo saga forced a rare apology from the Princess. Picture: Kensington Palace/Instagram

With the royal family at risk of imploding from outside pressures, Ms Reaney said the “unravelling” situation needed to be urgently addressed.

“A simple update on (Catherine’s) state, even reinforcing their past message is important. They essentially need to regain the reins of this narrative,” she said.

The PR expert said she believed the royals had made a significant error in judgment by shrouding Princess Catherine’s health issues in an impenetrable veil of secrecy.

The Mother’s Day photo manipulation scandal, which resulted in a rare personal apology from the Princess of Wales, had only made it worse, she said.

The royal family needs to regain the reins when it comes to Princess Catherine’s health, a leading PR expert says.

“Initially the public and media were empathetic to her situation and in giving her space in what seemed like a private, potentially serious, medical condition,” Ms Reaney said.

“However shifting from that to communication from a third party to then having her casually photoshopping and posting a random casual tweet/X ‘by her’ is just completely out of context, out of character and just bizarre.

“Obviously they have their reasoning for the silence. And when it comes to health, of course that can remain private.

“But a more effective method would have been for the royal family to continue all communication for her, while providing little updates along the way without having to disclose the exact circumstance.”

Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams said Princess Catherine’s likely appearance at Windsor on Easter Sunday “would be a good move” and “not too stressful” for the ailing Princess.

The Palace’s PR strategy had “backfired badly”, he said, during what has been a harrowing time for the royal.

“The only way to solve this is by balancing privacy, which is obviously essential, with occasional information which is officially released.

“In the era of vicious online trolling it is much more difficult to hold the line. She has been seriously ill, spending nearly a fortnight in hospital.

“She is extremely popular, a new Ipsod poll has her as the nation’s most popular royal and she and William are the world’s most high profile royal couple, who do a great deal for charity.”

Writing for The Telegraph, associate editor Camilla Tominey said the Princess’s return to public life “could not come a moment too soon for those managing the fallout”.

The best policy, she said, was to ignore the social media trolls, keep calm and carry on.

Originally published as Kate Middleton expected to make an official public appearance at Easter event