The Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton, was spotted in public with husband Prince William at a local farm stand not far from the couple’s home in Windsor, England over the weekend, according to multiple reports.
While any royal family sighting tends to attract press and onlookers, the princess has purportedly been seen in public just three times since December, the last being in mid-January after she was hospitalized for what Kensington Palace officials said was a schedule abdominal surgery, ABC News reported.
After the 42-year-old’s Jan. 16 medical procedure, which officials only said was not cancer-related, rumors about her health began swirling on social media.
Her long absence from public responsibilities, along with a doctored Mother’s Day photo of Middleton and her three children released by Kensington Palace, intensified speculation about her health and her marriage to Prince William.
Mother’s Day in the United Kingdom is observed in early March.
The Associated Press, along with many other outlets who initially published the photo, retracted the image.
The Sun, a U.K. outlet, was first to report that the princess was seen in Windsor looking “happy, relaxed and healthy,” but on Monday TMZ released video footage of the royals on their Saturday stroll near the farm stand.
“Nobody around looks to be bothering them … and Kate, sure enough, does indeed look pretty cheerful here — smiling wide and even carrying on a conversation with her husband,” the tabloid outlet wrote.
As for the doctored photo, Middleton apologized in a social media post on March 11, saying, “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. Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the last two months. Wishing everyone a happy Mother’s Day.”
Whatever “confusion” the photo may have prompted, TMZ says many believe the apology was Middleton taking blame for an image that was edited by palace officials.