William and Kate are said to be ‘shaken and devastated’ at the speculation about their marriage on social media and could address the Princess of Wales‘ health condition at public engagements next month, her close friends have said.
Princess Kate has not made an official public appearance since she underwent major abdominal surgery on January 16, leading to a growing tsunami of speculation over her unknown health condition.
Speculation only intensified when she publicly took the blame for the family photograph released by Kensington Palace on Mother’s Day, which was ‘killed’ by six of the world’s top picture agencies over concern that it had been ‘manipulated’.
As well as a number of imperfections in the photoshopped image, viewers also spotted that Kate appeared to not be wearing her wedding ring, which sparked multiple unfounded theories online about the state of her marriage.
Despite this tumultuous few weeks for the Royal Family, it is expected that they will still uphold the tradition of releasing a new photograph to mark their children’s birthdays, the next being Prince Louis on April 23.
They may use it as an opportunity to speak about her health, it has been reported.
‘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,’ a source told the Sunday Times.
‘If she was going to do it, that’s how she would do it.’
Kensington Palace released the picture of the Princess of Wales since surgery
Kate posted the apology on the Prince and Princess of Wales’ Instagram account