Main image, Prince William visits a housing workshop on March 19, 2024 in Sheffield, England. Inset, Kate Middleton visits Outfit Moray, a charity delivering outdoor learning and adventure activity programs to young people in Moray,… Temilade Adelaja; Jane Barlow/WPA Pool/Getty Images
The Prince of Wales made a touching reference to his wife, Kate Middleton, during a charity visit on Tuesday, after the first video footage of the princess since her abdominal surgery was shared by media outlets.
William mentioned Kate when the subject of childhood was raised during a meeting of his homelessness initiative Homewards in the city of Sheffield in northern England.
“That’s my wife’s area, she needs to sit here,” he said, per The Sun.
The Context
William’s comment comes a day after gossip site TMZ and British tabloid newspaper The Sun released the first video footage of Kate since her surgery back in January.
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Captured at the Windsor estate farm shop near the Wales’ family home on Saturday, the video clip shows the prince and princess walking together with grocery bags with Kate seen to be smiling.
The video has not quashed the widespread speculation and conspiracy theories that have been circulating about the princess, her health and whereabouts since she stepped out of the public eye to recover from her surgery.
A number of viral social media posts, including one by reality TV producer and talk-show host, Andy Cohen, have expressed disbelief that the figure in the Windsor video is Kate.
Kensington Palace have not commented officially on the video or the media outlets’ decision to share it.
What We Know
Prince William undertook engagements in the city of Sheffield on Tuesday to attend a housing workshop and local coalition meeting connected with his Homewards initiative that was launched in 2023.
During the meeting at the Millennium Gallery in the city, Sheffield City Council chief executive, Kate Josephs, reportedly referenced the subject of childhood, which William linked back to Kate.
“That’s my wife’s area,” he said, in a reference to her developed work in the early years sector. “She needs to sit here,” he said, per The Sun.
The prince’s visit took place as Kate continues to make front page news in Britain. So far, William has not explicitly referenced his wife’s recovery during his program of scaled down public engagements.
Newsweek approached Kensington Palace via email for comment.
Views
Since the release of the video footage of Kate with William, a number of commentators have spoken in defense of the princess and her right to privacy.
In an interview on Tuesday morning with the radio station LBC, the U.K. government’s culture minister, Lucy Frazer, was asked her thoughts on the video and newspapers’ decision to print screenshots from it on their front pages.
“In relation to the press, it’s important that I respect and uphold press freedom,” Frazer said. “I’ve met the Princess of Wales a number of times. I think she’s a remarkable lady and I think we should give her a little bit of privacy personally.”
She went on to add: “These are matters that each individual newspaper will have to consider, and I’m sure that they will consider very carefully. Personally, I think that the Princess of Wales does a remarkable job, and at the moment she is recovering from an operation, and I think we should respect her privacy.”
What’s Next?
Following the publication of the Windsor video of Kate and Prince William, attention has turned to the princess’ potential return to public duties.
At the time her surgery was announced in January, Kensington Palace said that “based on the current medical advice,” Kate was “unlikely to return to public duties until after Easter.”
This could see the princess attend the annual Easter Sunday church service at Windsor Castle with other members of the royal family on March 31, though any announcement about the event and Kate’s potential attendance will not be disclosed until closer to the date.
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek‘s royal reporter, based in London. You can find him on X (formerly Twitter) at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek‘s The Royals Facebook page.
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