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Kate Middleton has been spotted — or so is the hope. After speculation over the whereabouts of Catherine, Princess of Wales, has raged, TMZ has shared what they say is the first photo of Kate since she was spotted during family Christmas celebrations in December. Post-surgery, the Princess of Wales has remained unseen throughout the first quarter of 2024.
Kate Appears in the Passenger Seat of a Car in the New Photo
The first photo of the Princess of Wales in 2024, shared by TMZ on Monday, shows her sitting in the passenger seat of a car driving near Windsor Castle, where mom Carole Middleton is behind the wheel. Kate’s sunglasses partially obstruct her face in the grainy shot. While she appears to be okay, many have noted the expressionless face she makes.
Royal Fans Are Unconvinced That It’s the Princess in the Photo
As the photo began spreading on social media, eagle-eyed royal fans began dissecting it and questioning the validity of the photos.
Many people noted that the quality of the photo being so fuzzy seemed unlikely in this day and age, with some suggesting it was added to further obfuscate the photo.
Just to put it in perspective, those on the left are recent pap pics of Kate Middleton driving a car. That pic on the right is allegedly her sitting in a car today. The difference in image quality is not an accident. It is THAT grainy to cover something: scars or a double ?”
@effoff1988/X
Others called attention to the fact that the Princess of Wales has a mole above her lip and below her right cheek, which appears to be missing in the photo.
Prior to her abdominal surgery, Kate Middleton had a mole above her lip. In today’s picture, it appears to have magically vanished. Is the Royal Family lying to us? 🤔”
@CilComLFC/ X
It’s been nearly two months since the Royal Family first announced that Kate was undergoing abdominal surgery. At the time, they said she wouldn’t return to her duties as a senior royal until Easter. Palace PR has spoken again about the Princess of Wales in the wake of all the speculation about her condition. They did so, however, only to stand firm in their original stance.
From our perspective, we were very clear from our statement at the start of this in January that the Princess of Wales planned to be out of public action until after Easter and that hasn’t changed. We were always clear we wouldn’t be providing updates when there wasn’t anything new to share. The last thing anyone wants is a running commentary of the Princess of Wales’ recovery. Nothing has changed from that approach in January.”
Buckingham Palace, per The Daily Mail