Princess of Wales Is in the Hospital After Abdominal Surgery

Catherine, the Princess of Wales and the wife of Prince William, underwent abdominal surgery in London on Tuesday, and will remain hospitalized for 10 to 14 days, according to the couple’s office in Kensington Palace.

The office did not offer details on Catherine’s diagnosis or prognosis, other than to say that the surgery had been planned and was successful. It said the princess, who is 42, would continue to recuperate at home after she left the hospital and would not return to public duties until after Easter.

“Her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales was admitted to the London Clinic yesterday for planned abdominal surgery,” Kensington Palace said in a four-paragraph news release. It added: “She hopes the public will understand her desire to maintain as much normality for her children as possible; and her wish that her personal medical information remains private.”

In a royal family buffeted by drama and scandal, Catherine, formerly known as Kate Middleton, has often been viewed as a figure of uncommon stability. She and Prince William, along with their three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis, have moved to the foreground of the family since the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, and the rupture between the family and Prince Harry, William’s younger brother.

The couple are known for guarding their privacy on medical issues. Prince William suffered a bout of Covid-19 in April 2020, during one of the most intense phases of the pandemic, but the news was not disclosed for several months. Some suggested that William did not want to cause alarm, since his father, then Prince Charles, had contracted the illness around the same time.