Kate Was Out Shopping With William And She Looked Happy And She Looked Well

In the world of politics — even in the real world — the best way to fix a crisis of credibility or quiet wild rumors is to come forward: to hold a press conference and try to establish the true version of events. In the world of the British monarchy, the strategies and means of communication are more twisted and obtuse. You have to understand the key players.

That’s why the Sunday edition of the newspaper The Times — still the most institutional, serious and British medium that exists today — ran with the headline “Kate could address health mystery at public engagement,” citing friends of the Prince Williams and the Princess of Wales, the closest thing to an official version of the current situation. This version was intended to put an end to the furor over Kate Middleton’s health and whereabouts.

The main source of the long exclusive — written by the newspaper’s royal affairs correspondent Roya Nikkah — is a friend of the couple, who has known William and Kate since their days as students at St. Andrews University.

According to exclusives from tabloid The Sun, in a bid to quell the rumors, the Princess of Wales made a couple of impromptu public appearances this past weekend. On Saturday, she was seen with her husband in a farm store near his residence at Adelaide Cottage in Windsor, and on Sunday the couple went to see their three children playing sport. “Kate was out shopping with William and she looked happy and she looked well,” an alleged witness told the tabloid. There were, however, no photos of these outings.

They are at their most open when out interacting with members of the public and I can see a world in which the princess might discuss her recovery out on engagements. If she was going to do it, that’s how she would do it,” a royal source told The Times. “They will want to be clear and more open, but they’ll do it when they feel ready. I would expect that to be her instinct and it will be her call. They’re not going to be rushed,” a friend added.

The report published by The Times is an attempt to redirect the situation, and restore the flow of information and calm that Kensington Palace tried to establish in mid-January when it announced that the Princess of Wales was to undergo abdominal surgery at a London hospital.
The official statement from the Kensington Palace — the official residence and name given to the office handling the affairs of the Prince and Princess of Wales — made it clear that Kate would spend up to two weeks recovering at the London Clinic. “Based on the current medical advice, she is unlikely to return to public duties until after Easter,” it stated.

Amid the speculation over the princess’s health, The Times report said that by “after Easter,” Prince Williams and Kate were referring to the end of their children’s school holidays, not the Easter weekend. In other words, after April 17, although Kensington Palace has not yet published a specific date or event.