Kate Middleton Is ‘On Track’ to Make 1st Official Appearance on Easter: Report

Princess Kate Middleton is expected to make her return into the public eye at church on Easter morning.

“She is doing well. Everything is on track. Easter will be the big bang moment,” a source told The Daily Beast’s royal reporter Tom Sykes on Tuesday, March 19.

A pal of the Princess of Wales’ and a friend of King Charles III’s told the outlet that they “expected” and “hoped,” respectively, that Kate, 42, would attend church on Easter on Sunday, March 31. A pal of Charles’ noted that the monarch “of course” hoped Kate would attend church at Easter.

A former Buckingham Palace staff member told The Daily Beast that Easter was “the natural choice” for Kate to make an appearance, noting that her attendance would provide a “powerful dose of continuity.”

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The update comes months after Kensington Palace shared that Kate would undergo a “planned” abdominal surgery and would be “unlikely to return to public duties until after Easter.” Despite the announcement detailing the timeline of Kate’s recovery, the Princess of Wales has sparked concern for her lack of public appearances — and for digitally altering a Mother’s Day portrait that had been released.

After Kate was spotted for the first time post-surgery in March in a car alongside her mom, Carole Middleton, Kate raised eyebrows for her Mother’s Day portrait. Fans were quick to point out that the photo appeared digitally altered, and several news agencies later received a “kill notification” to pull it from their websites.

Kate later addressed the editing in a statement, writing via 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. I hope everyone celebrating had a very happy Mother’s Day.”

After the photo editing debacle, Kate was seen with her husband, Prince William, in a car leaving Windsor Castle and was spotted with William, 41, at the Windsor Farm Shop.

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Amid her recovery, it was reported that The London Clinic launched an investigation after members of the hospital allegedly attempted to access Kate’s private medical records after her operation. Kensington Palace confirmed that Kate was aware of the situation, adding, “This is a matter for The London Clinic.”

The London Clinic CEO Al Russell spoke out about the medical breach on Wednesday, March 20, saying in a statement to NBC News, “Everyone at The London Clinic is acutely aware of our individual, professional, ethical and legal duties with regards to patient confidentiality.”

Kate has slowly begun to return to work, quietly working from home with a childcare campaign. The initiative, which is funded by The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood, aims to improve the lives of babies.

Kensington Palace confirmed to Us Weekly that “the princess has been kept updated throughout the process.”