Kate Middleton getting back to work on special project as she recovers from surgery
Kate Middleton is working from home as she recovers from surgery, Fox News Digital confirmed.
The Princess of Wales has been kept up to date regarding the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood's trial of an observation tool for child development. The trial focused on how social behaviors — such as eye contact, facial expression, vocalization — could help "better understand the ways babies express their feelings."
Middleton would usually make an appearance at events for the project but had to miss out as the results of two studies were announced Thursday. The evaluation report was published by the Institute of Health Visiting and the University of Oxford.
"The Princess has been kept updated throughout the process," a Kensington Palace spokesperson said.
Middleton has remained out of the public eye since Dec. 25. Buckingham Palace later revealed the Princess of Wales had been admitted to a hospital for a planned abdominal surgery Jan. 17. Since then, she has only been spotted a handful of times, sparking speculation about Middleton's whereabouts.
Princess Kate was most recently spotted walking through the Windsor Farm Shop nearly three months after her last official royal outing.
On Mother's Day in the U.K., Middleton shared a photo featuring her three children with Prince William — Prince George, Prince Louis and Princess Charlotte. The picture quickly became news as it was likely intended to quell speculation about the princess. Middleton's photo only fueled speculation about her health and whereabouts after it came to light that the image had been altered.
Kate later apologized on Instagram, writing: "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."
"We don't have anything to add," the palace told Fox News Digital when asked for comments about the digitally altered photo.
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Her apology didn't stop a leading photo agency from deciding Kensington Palace is no longer a "trusted source."
"Like with anything, when you're let down by a source, the bar is raised," Phil Chetwynd, global news director of AFP, explained on an episode of the BBC's "The Media Show."
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Amid drama over Middleton's surgery recovery, The London Clinic reportedly experienced a security breach after staff at the hospital attempted to access the Princess of Wales' medical records.
"We can confirm that we have received a breach report and are assessing the information provided," a spokesperson for the Information Commissioners' Office (ICO) told Fox News Digital.
It's unclear if Princess Kate's records were accessed in the breach.
"Everyone at The London Clinic is acutely aware of our individual, professional, ethical and legal duties with regards to patient confidentiality," CEO Al Russell told Fox News Digital "We take enormous pride in the outstanding care and discretion we aim to deliver for all our patients that put their trust in us every day.
"We have systems in place to monitor management of patient information and, in the case of any breach, all appropriate investigatory, regulatory and disciplinary steps will be taken. There is no place at our hospital for those who intentionally breach the trust of any of our patients or colleagues."