Catherine’s Latest Health Update! NHS Doctor Claimed Princess Would Be Sent Home in A Day or Two

Catherine, Princess of Wales, is on an early road to recovery following successful abdominal surgery this week.

Kensington Palace sources told People that the royal, affectionately called Kate Middleton by some, is “doing well” and is expected to remain hospitalized at the London Clinic for up to fourteen days.

Official reps confirmed Wednesday that the 42-year-old princess was admitted to the private hospital on Tuesday to undergo “planned abdominal surgery.”  The palace did not disclose further details about her condition except that it is not cancer-related.

Though the unknown procedure was said to be a success, Princess Kate is not expected to return to her public duties until after Easter.

London — At their most recent public outing, attending the annual Christmas Day church service in Sandringham, England, Britain’s King Charles III and his daughter-in-law Princess Catherine were the picture of health. So, the twin announcements Wednesday that the future queen was already in a private London clinic recovering from abdominal surgery and the monarch is set to undergo treatment next week for an enlarged prostate came as a bit of a shock.

A palace source said it was the king himself who wanted to make the details of his diagnosis public — an important openness from the new monarch after being crowned only last year.

“More human than what they used to project”

“It’s an area of the body that’s generally very sensitive – people are squeamish about,” said CBS News chief medical correspondent Dr. Jon LaPook. “He’s saying, ‘Look, I’m a human. I have this problem, and here’s how I’m going to take care of it.'”

The announcement about Charles came just an hour after it was revealed that Catherine, the Princess of Wales, or Kate as she’s more often known, was recovering from what Kensington Palace called a “planned” abdominal surgery.

Prince William paid a visit to his wife on Thursday. People reports that he has shifted his schedule to support his wife and their three children at home in Windsor.

All planned foreign visits have reportedly been either postponed or canceled while she is recuperating.

“The Princess of Wales wishes to apologise to all those concerned for the fact that she has to postpone her upcoming engagements,” the palace said. “She looks forward to reinstating as many as possible, as soon as possible.”

According to the statement, the princess appreciates the interest the announcement has generated and “hopes that 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.”

The palace said it would only provide updates when there is significant new information to share.

London — At their most recent public outing, attending the annual Christmas Day church service in Sandringham, England, Britain’s King Charles III and his daughter-in-law Princess Catherine were the picture of health. So, the twin announcements Wednesday that the future queen was already in a private London clinic recovering from abdominal surgery and the monarch is set to undergo treatment next week for an enlarged prostate came as a bit of a shock.A palace source said it was the king himself who wanted to make the details of his diagnosis public — an important openness from the new monarch after being crowned only last year.

“More human than what they used to project”

“It’s an area of the body that’s generally very sensitive – people are squeamish about,” said CBS News chief medical correspondent Dr. Jon LaPook. “He’s saying, ‘Look, I’m a human. I have this problem, and here’s how I’m going to take care of it.'”

The announcement about Charles came just an hour after it was revealed that Catherine, the Princess of Wales, or Kate as she’s more often known, was recovering from what Kensington Palace called a “planned” abdominal surgery.

The palace said Kate would spend up to two weeks at the private London clinic where she had the procedure, and then up to several months recuperating at home in Windsor, making it unlikely she will return to public duties until after Easter at the end of March. The palace stressed that surgery was not cancer related, but it has given no further detail, noting that Kate is keen to maintain her privacy.

The royal family has a history of closely guarding, or at least attempting to closely guard its most personal information, and some Brits welcomed them even acknowledging their health issues.

“I think it certainly shows that they’re more human than what they used to project to the public,” one Londoner told CBS News.

But given 42-year-old Kate’s relatively young age and general good health, the limited detail provided by the royals about such a senior family member’s hospitalization may have surprised or concerned some people. One veteran royal watcher and biographer says it’s par for the course, however.

“Protecting those three children”

The palace statement reflected the fact that the princess “has always put herself as a mother first, and she doesn’t want her children to be exposed to any kind of speculation or intrusion,” CBS News royal contributor Amanda Foreman said, adding that it was worded “100% with a mind to protecting those three children.”

The length of Kate’s expected recovery time “is very significant,” noted Foreman, “but don’t forget there are procedures that can require very long recovery times — for example, a hysterectomy can take weeks to recover — and it doesn’t mean it’s a life-threatening situation by any means.”

“There are lots of procedures people don’t want to have discussed. It is personal to them,” noted the author. “So, this makes a lot of sense within the framework of what we’re hearing.”