Kensington Palace Clarifies Kate Middleton's Return to Duties Amid Health Concerns: "A Clear Commitment"

Kensington Palace has clarified that Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales, will not be resuming public engagements just yet as she continues to focus on her health. This announcement comes in light of a new report from the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood, one of her closest causes, which was released recently.

A spokesperson for Kensington Palace said, “The princess is not expected to return to work until it’s cleared by her medical team. Early childhood will continue to be central to her public work.” Earlier Middleton announced her cancer and said, “In January, I underwent major abdominal surgery in London, and at the time, it was thought that my condition was noncancerous…My medical team therefore advised that I should undergo a course of preventative chemotherapy, and I am now in the early stages of that treatment…”

Prince William provided an update on his wife’s health in April during a walkabout after an engagement. When asked about how he and his family were doing, he responded, “All doing well — thank you. Yes, we’re doing well.” An insider shared, “This is a clear commitment she has made throughout her life of public service this will be a focus. That will continue when she returns to work. But we have been really clear that she needs the space and the privacy to recover right now. She will return to work when she has had the green light from doctors,” as reported by HuffPost.

As per US Weekly, Middleton launched the foundation in June 2021 to “drive awareness of and action on the extraordinary impact of the early years, to transform society for the future.” Christian Guy, executive director of The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood, shared, “This is another crucial moment for Her Royal Highness’s early childhood work. Its impact, and the work of her Centre for Early Childhood, is rolling on as she recovers…However, early childhood is a huge priority for the Princess and so she has been kept fully updated throughout the development of the Taskforce’s work, and she has seen the report.” The report added, “Businesses can drive, and benefit from, transformative societal change.”

Guy also noted that Kate is “enormously grateful” to the Taskforce for their “fantastic progress.” He added, “She feels passionately about the transformational impact of getting this right together, both for the current generation and for many more to come…Shaping Us was about raising awareness, but also what is so important to her is action. So, to have eight of the most significant businesses in Britain come forward to make the case to their fellow business leaders is exciting for her and a priority going forward for the Centre.”