Kate Middleton spotted for the first time since surgery

After a week of feverish online speculation about her health, the Princess of Wales has been sighted near her home in Windsor.

Carole Middleton driving a car with the Princess of Wales in the passenger seat in Windsor. Picture: BACKGRID

The Princess of Wales has been sighted for the first time since Christmas.

Catherine, 42, was photographed wearing dark oversized glasses, riding in the passenger seat of an Audi driven by her mother, Carole Middleton, near Windsor Castle on Monday.

The Princess has been recovering at her home in Adelaide Cottage after undergoing “planned abdominal surgery,” which led her to spend a total of 13 days at the London Clinic in January.

In a statement released upon the Princesses’s release on January 17, Kensington Palace said: “The Princess of Wales has returned home to Windsor to continue her recovery from surgery. She is making good progress.”

The statement added that Catherine was “unlikely to return to public duties until after Easter.”

The news about Catherine’s health was amplified by the fact that, only an hour later, the palace announced that King Charles III, 75, would receive treatment for an enlarged prostate.

Catherine, Princess of Wales, Princess Charlotte of Wales, Prince George of Wales, Prince William, Prince of Wales, Prince Louis of Wales and Mia Tindall attend Christmas Morning Service at Sandringham Church on December 25, 2023 in Sandringham, Norfolk. Picture: Samir Hussein/WireImage

Catherine was last seen in public on Christmas Day when she attended the service at St. Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham, Norfolk, England, with her husband, Prince William, and their three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis.

Speculation regarding her health, fuelled on social media last week after Prince William bowed out of a planned appearance at the memorial service for his godfather, King Constantine of the Hellenes, prompted Kensington Palace to release another statement on the matter.

“Kensington Palace made it clear in January about the timelines of the Princess’s recovery, and we would only be providing significant updates. That guidance stands,” a spokesman told ABC News. The spokesman reiterated that the princess is “doing well.”