Kate Middleton’s Continued Absence Sparks Questions About Her Among Royal Fans: ‘Where’s Kate?’

Kate Middleton hasn't been seen in public for almost two months, which has led to many rumors and worries about her health. On Christmas Eve, the Princess of Wales looked radiant as she went for a customary walkabout at Sandringham with the other members of the royal family - but not a peep since.

According to a royal statement from Kensington Palace, Kate underwent "planned abdominal surgery" in January 2024, per Nicki Swift. Although they withheld the specifics of the process, they did disclose that Kate was unlikely to resume her public persona until Easter, per The News International. Their statement read, "The surgery was successful and it is expected that she will remain in the hospital for ten to fourteen days, before returning home to continue her recovery."

Nevertheless, a lot of people anticipated that the Princess of Wales would emerge from the hospital or make an occasional appearance, similar to how King Charles was seen out and about after his operation and cancer diagnosis. But unlike Charles, Kate's recovery has been completely secretive, and her prolonged absence of more than two months has many royal admirers extremely concerned.

People are becoming increasingly concerned about Kate and whether anything more severe could be happening. Many of them have expressed their concerns on social media. A royal fan wrote on X, formerly Twitter, "No one is asking for detailed information on Kate Middleton's health. We are pointing out that the palace released pretty nebulous statements with no pap or official photos and the British press (known for their utmost respect of privacy) just went 'ok.'"

“Nobody has seen Kate Middleton in 44 days. But has anyone even seen her parents, siblings, or children lately? Certainly not one of them not once visited her at the hospital where she was supposed to be for 2 weeks. Something is VERY off here,” a royal watcher expressed on X. “My question is, where is the picture? Something is fishy,” another wondered. 

The future Queen departed from Windsor earlier this week with her husband and children to spend a half-term holiday with the cancer-stricken King Charles in Sandringham, according to a recent Daily Mail article by royal biographer Richard Eden. It's notable that despite the press closely observing the princess's every move, not a single picture of her was taken during all of this back and forth. One person tweeted, "I am not trying to be a conspiracy theorist about the situation at all, but it is WILD how much the royal family has shut down press about where Kate Middleton is/why she hasn't been seen."

While many were only observing how she was out of the public eye, many worried about her health. An X user wrote, "It is so weird! What procedure these days requires people to be in the hospital for 2 whole weeks? My dad just had a pretty hardcore back surgery last week, and he was home after about 48 hours."