Princess Kate is currently on track for an Easter return to royal duties, it has been claimed.
The Princess of Wales was hospitalised for 13 days in January after undergoing abdominal surgery, and has not made any public outings so far this year.
Kensington Palace has said from the outset that Kate, 42, will not return to working duties until at least after Easter.
After an unauthorised picture of the princess and her mother Carole Middleton was released by US media, Kate later released her own photo on Mother's Day.
Kate is not due to return to duties until after Easter
Getty
The photo, which Prince William took, showed Kate surrounded by her three children, Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, eight, and Prince Louis, five.
After social media fans spotted several discrepancies within the photo, six international picture agencies recalled the snapshot due to fears it had been manipulated.
Kate later apologised for the editing, writing on X: "Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing.
"I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused.
Kate posing with her three children in a photo that was digitally edited by the princessKensington Palace/X "I hope everyone celebrating had a very happy Mother’s Day. C."
The photo scandal has caused baseless claims about Kate's health to swirl on social media.
One royal source told Page Six: “It’s an awful lot to be under all of this public scrutiny when you are recovering from major surgery.
“The rumour mill — particularly on social media — has gotten out of control, but Kate is recovering well and she will be back by Easter.
Princess Kate apologised for the confusion caused PA“She just needs to be left in peace.”
Kensington Palace previously reaffirmed Kate's recovery timeline through a statement.
They said: “We were very clear from the outset that the Princess of Wales was out until after Easter and Kensington Palace would only be providing updates when something was significant.”
Speculation was rife at the time due to Prince William unexpectedly pulling out of a memorial service for his godfather due to “personal reasons”.
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Kensington Palace confirmed that Kate is 'doing well' in her recovery GettyTo avoid any speculation, the Palace quickly announced that Kate was “doing well” in her recovery.
Prince William has also quietly dispelled all the rumours regarding Kate's health.
A spokesperson for the Prince of Wales said: "His focus is on his work and not on social media."