PRINCESS Kate could reveal details of her abdominal surgery during a public engagement, a royal source has claimed.
Kate, 42, has missed a number of public events as she recuperates from her planned abdominal operation.
Kate has been out of the public eye since the Christmas service in Sandringham in December last year.
It was revealed in January this year she had been admitted to The London Clinic for a “major planned abdominal surgery“.
Kensington Palace said at the time Kate was unlikely to return to public duties until after Easter.
Now, a royal sourced has claimed the Princess of Wales could discuss her recovery publicly in the future.
Speaking to The Times, the source said: “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.
“If she was going to do it, that’s how she would do it.”
A friend added: “They will want to be clear and more open, but they’ll do it when they feel ready.
“I would expect that to be her instinct and it will be her call. They’re not going to be rushed.”
Rumours were sparked over the princess’ health when William pulled out of a memorial service last month due to a “personal matter”.
But, royal fans were then overjoyed when Kate posted a heart-warming picture with her children on Mother’s Day.
The beautiful pic of Kate beaming with her children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, was shared on Sunday.
However, it was shrouded in speculation after experts found the adorable snap had been edited.
Several major photo agencies then withdrew the snap, the first official shot of Kate since abdominal surgery in January, over fears it had been “edited at source”.
The Princess of Wales was said to be “very sad” that the sweet photograph had triggered a global furore.
Despite the recent controversy, it is expected that the royals will still uphold the tradition of releasing a new photograph to mark their children’s birthdays.
A pal told The Times that Will and Kate could issue another snap next month to celebrate Prince Louis’ birthday on April 23.
However, nothing has been confirmed.
There has also been no decision as to whether Kate will point the camera or leave it to a professional photographer.
Kate is believed to have altered the image three times on a computer before it was posted on social media on Sunday.
Inspection of the original image revealed it was taken on a Canon camera with a 50mm lens.
It had been edited three times on Adobe Photoshop — once on Friday evening and twice on Saturday.
Royal enthusiasts had questioned why Kate wasn’t wearing her wedding ring in the Mother’s Day snap and noticed her other hand was blurry.
News agencies ordered a “kill notice” on the picture late Sunday night.
The removal orders were sent after “manipulation” on the image was discovered.
AP’s order said the reason for killing the story was: “At closer inspection it appears that the source has manipulated the image.”
The order then directs those who have used the photo to remove it from all platforms, including social.
Agence France-Press ordered the “mandatory kill” due to an “editorial issue” and directed that the image may no longer be used.
Reuters said the photo “has been withdrawn following a post publication review.”
Getty Images said: “For editorial reasons, please remove the following image(s) from your system and do not use in any manner.”
Getty said its picture desk “identified a problematic image” provided by the palace and removed it from its site “in accordance with our editorial policy.”
PA said: “Like other news agencies, PA Media issued the handout image provided by Kensington Palace of the Princess of Wales and her children in good faith yesterday.
“We became aware of concerns about the image and we carried a report about it last night, and made clear that we were seeking urgent clarification about the image from Kensington Palace.
“In the absence of that clarification, we are killing the image from our picture service.”
Each of the news agencies have their own editorial guidelines which govern how they treat images.
AP says that pictures “must always tell the truth” and that it does not alter or manipulate the content of a photograph in any way.
Its guidelines say: “The content of a photograph must not be altered in PhotoShop or by any other means. No element should be digitally added to or subtracted from any photograph.”
However, AP says minor adjustments are allowed, they include cropping, colour adjustments, and light adjustments.
Others said daughter Charlotte’s cardigan sleeve seemed to disappear and her skirt was fuzzy.
Some claimed there seemed to be an odd cut in a nearby skirting board.
And in a colour-corrected and lightened version of the image, Kate’s zip appears not to line up.
She apologised on Monday, 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.”
