The Princess of Wales skipped the St. Patrick’s Day parade hosted by the Irish Guards this year. We knew she would, even though this is her first official St. Patrick’s Day as Colonel of the Irish Guards, having been given the honorary military patronage last year when Prince William stepped down. In previous years, her job was to show up in a green coatdress, attach a giant shamrock bouquet to the Irish Guards’ mascot dog Seamus and watch the parade. Maybe make a brief speech. Kate is obviously (??) still recuperating from her January abdominal surgery, so that’s why she skipped this year. Except… Kate was reportedly well enough to go to a garden center AND her kids’ sporting event on Saturday. She was well enough to be out and about throughout the day on Saturday, but not well enough to do her shamrock job on St. Patrick’s Day? I mean, that’s if you believe the Sun’s completely random cover story:

Princess Kate took her first steps towards a return to official engagements with a trip to her favourite farm shop. Onlookers said she looked “happy, relaxed and healthy” on the visit a mile from her Adelaide Cottage home in Windsor on Saturday. In a further boost yesterday, Kate and William spent the morning watching children George, ten, Charlotte, eight, and Louis, five, take part in sports.

The sightings come amid wild speculation and gossip about her health and whereabouts which left the royal couple “devastated”. Kate was also embroiled in hurtful criticism over a Mother’s Day picture which she altered using Photoshop.

A witness at the farm shop in Windsor said: “After all the rumours that had been going round I was stunned to see them there. Kate was out shopping with William and she looked happy and she looked well. The kids weren’t with them but it’s such a good sign she was healthy enough to pop down to the shops.”

There was more encouraging news for the Royal Family yesterday as King Charles, who is receiving cancer treatment, spent the weekend at his Highgrove home in Gloucestershire.

Kate was last seen on public duty on Christmas Day, and has been unable to carry out official engagements since having an operation in January.

[From The Sun]

If Kate was really out and about on Saturday, going to her kids’ sporting event (??) and popping by a farm shop… why did no one think to snap a photo? You could argue that the paparazzi are not staking out garden shops in Windsor, but why didn’t some random onlooker or witness snap a blurry pic on their iPhone? This is so bizarre. While Kate is known to love a garden store, William doesn’t really give a sh-t – why were they together? Is any of this real? And why didn’t William think to hang out with the Irish Guards in his wife’s place on Sunday?

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images, Backgrid, Kensington Palace.