The first weekend after the Princess of Wales’s “Mother’s Day frankenphoto fiasco” was March 16-17. Magically, Roya Nikkhah at the Times got a big exclusive from the Kensington Palace team in which they attempted to do damage control on the frankenphoto and began to introduce plans for when the public would see Princess Kate. There were several follow-up exclusives in the Mirror and the Daily Beast, with sources insisting that staffers were working round the clock to plan for Kate’s big return, whether it would be a “big bang” on Easter Sunday or sometime after her kids’ Easter holiday (which ends around April 17th). It’s extremely odd that KP was pushing the “we promise Kate will get back to work soon” angle when the truth was so much more sympathetic – Kate is receiving adjuvant chemotherapy and she will be out of public view for a while. That’s what we know now, after Kate’s public statement on Friday, March 22. So why all of the stories just days earlier about her return to work? Now KP sources are telling outlets that Kate will only return to public duties when she’s cleared by her medical team:

The Waleses will not join other royals for the traditional Easter service in Windsor as the young family seek time and space to come to terms with Kate’s cancer treatment. Kate, 42, had been out of the public eye for most of the year, having undergone abdominal surgery in January, leading to widespread speculation about her health and wellbeing. In a video message yesterday, she revealed she has been undergoing preventative chemotherapy, after tests after her operation found that cancer had been present.

“The statement was a great shock to so many people because the feeling was that the Princess of Wales was over the worst and on the road to recovery,” said Joe Little, editor of Majesty magazine. “I don’t think anybody expected her to tell us in such a direct personal way that she has cancer. It’s a remarkable situation and a significant moment for the monarchy and the institution so early in the King’s reign that two senior figures should be out of action.”

The royal expert said it was “inevitable” that the number of royal engagements would have to be reduced, adding “the royal diaries will have been revised anyway because of these health considerations”.

In her statement, Kate said her work has always brought her a “deep sense of joy”, adding: “I look forward to being back when I am able, but for now I must focus on making a full recovery.”

A Kensington Palace spokesman said: “The Princess will return to official duties when she is cleared to do so by her medical team. She is in good spirits and is focused on making a full recovery.”

The Prince of Wales is due to return to public duties after his children return to school following the Easter break, but the family will not appear at Windsor Castle’s St George’s Chapel for the Easter Sunday service.

[From ITV]

So, no Easter church appearance, and I would consider it doubtful for all of April too. This is why Kensington Palace was so squirrelly about Trooping the Colour in June as well, although no one has said that yet – KP didn’t know if Kate would be ready by June (and she might not be and that’s understandable). But magically, they thought she would be ready by mid-April? Again, there was and is a perfectly reasonable explanation for why Kate needs to take it easy and everyone understands that now. Why then were her staffers applying public pressure on Kate to do this or that in the next month? Why did the staffers create a situation in which Kate’s absence on Easter Sunday would be global news, if not for her public statement?

Screencaps courtesy of Kensington Palace’s video.