Kate Middleton came home to a warm welcome back at Windsor from her family, as she’s finally left The London Clinic following her abdominal surgery. The Princess of Wales spent almost two weeks at the central London private hospital and will now stay at the family’s Adelaide Cottage home to recover.
Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis were said to have given her an extraordinary welcome – just like the three royal children received from the entire country when they were born.
However, when William and Kate’s firstborn son and future king, Prince George, was born, Kate Middleton didn’t just feel extremely happy. In fact, when she was to present him to the world for the first time, the princess was reportedly terrified of what was to come.
Kate Middleton is finally back home after spending two weeks at the London Clinic following her planned abdominal surgery.
She will now recover at her and Prince William’s home at Adelaide Cottage in Windsor and spend quality time with their children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis.
Kate Middleton recovers at home from surgery
“The Princess of Wales has returned home to Windsor to continue her recovery from surgery. She is making good progress,” Kensington Palace said in a statement released Monday. “The Prince and Princess wish to say a huge thank you to the entire team at The London Clinic, especially the dedicated nursing staff, for the care they have provided.”
The statement continued, “The Wales family continues to be grateful for the well wishes they have received from around the world.”
“Based on the current medical advice, she is unlikely to return to public duties until after Easter.”
Prince William was said to have visited his wife almost every day while she stayed at The London Clinic. However, reports have stated that neither Prince George nor his two siblings, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, visited their mother.
Kate is finally back home and able to spend quality time with her children. She got quite a welcome from George, Charlotte, and Louis. US Magazine reports that while they didn’t visit their mother at the hospital, the three children have been very hands-on since she returned home.
A source told the news outlet: “They’ve all made her some ‘get well soon’ cards along with some of her favourite snacks.”
Kate Middleton left the private clinic earlier this week via a private exit, the same one she reportedly used to arrive there several weeks ago.
Kate Middleton recalls “terrifying” moment after giving birth to George
Meanwhile, King Charles used the main exit when he left The London Clinic after undergoing treatment for an enlarged prostate.
Kate isn’t shy of the spotlight; as a royal, that would surely be challenging.
Despite this, there have been other times when she has apparently found it “terrifying.”
In July 2013, William and Kate welcomed their firstborn son, George. The world was waiting for the exciting announcement that he had been born, not only because it was a royal baby but a future king.
Outside of the Lindo Wing in Paddington in London, just hours after he was born, Prince George made his first public appearance in front of a huge crowd. But leaving the hospital was, according to Kate, “terrifying.”
Speaking on Giovanna Fletcher’s podcast Happy Mum, Happy Baby, the Princess of Wales was asked how it was to welcome a life into this world while she knew there were thousands of people wanting to know about it and to see the young boy.
“Yeah, slightly terrifying, slightly terrifying, I’m not going to lie. I like to decompartmentalize – what’s the word – compartmentalize, yes, the whole thing.” She also explained that she decided to follow in her late mother-in-law Diana’s footsteps and pose on the hospital steps with her little bundle of joy, as per the Mirror.
“Everyone had been so supportive, and both William and I were really conscious that this was something that everyone was excited about, and you know we’re hugely grateful for the support that the public had shown us, and actually for us to be able to share that joy and appreciation with the public, I felt was really important.”
“I was really desperate to get home”
The Princess of Wales continued, “But equally it was coupled with a newborn baby, inexperienced parents, and the uncertainty of what that held, so there were all sorts of mixed emotions.”
Further, Fletcher asked Kate if she remembered how long she had between giving birth to George and later posing on the Lindo Wing steps.
“Oh my gosh, I can’t remember. Everything goes in a bit of a blur,” Kate replied.
She concluded, “I think, yeah, I did stay in hospital overnight. I remember it was one of the hottest days and nights with huge thunderstorms, so I didn’t get a huge amount of sleep, but George did, which was really great. I was keen to get home because, for me, being in hospital, I had all the memories of being in hospital because of being sick so it wasn’t a place I wanted to hang around in. So, I was really desperate to get home and get back to normality.”
Prince George’s birth was, of course, a huge happening, and just like for anyone, knowing the newborn’s name is always exciting. And when it comes to future kings, it sure is something special.
The royal children at the top of the line of succession typically have three or more names. For example, Charles is named Charles Philip Arthur George, William is named William Arthur Philip Louis, and the late queen was named Elizabeth Alexandra Mary.
Prince George’s name was picked with help of family dog
The same goes for William and Kate’s three children: George Alexander Louis, Charlotte Elizabeth Diana, and Louis Arthur Charles.
“The further down the line of succession, the more likely you are to have a more unique or untraditional name,” Carolyn Harris, author of Raising Royalty: 1,000 Years of Royal Parenting, said.
Thirdly, the monarch always gets to know what the name will be before it is announced. However, Queen Elizabeth – and, in the future, King Charles – didn’t have to approve the name the parents chose.
When Prince George was born, picking a name was tough, not least because it was their first child. Therefore, Prince William and Kate Middleton decided to do it in an un-royal fashion.
William and Kate struggled to choose the name for their firstborn son. However, they came up with a solution in the picking process. According to the Times, the Prince and Princess of Wales brought in their dog, Lupo, who helped them choose from the list of possible contenders.
After putting all the possible names on scraps of paper and spreading them on their floor, they let Lupo in and watched which piece of writing he went up to. The English cocker spaniel picked George, and the case was closed.
Kate Middleton got sick when pregnant with George – “rotten” condition put her in hospital
Sadly, Lupo passed away in 2020.
“Very sadly, our dear dog, Lupo, passed away. He has been at the heart of our family for the past nine years, and we will miss him so much,” William and Kate shared on social media.
Not long after the Wales family says goodbye to Lupo, they welcomed a new cocker spaniel puppy, Orla, into their lives. Prince William and Princess Kate decided to adopt Orla from James Middleton, Kate’s brother, and have been a beloved family member ever since. George, Charlotte, and Louis have a best friend on four legs who will see the children grow up for many years.
While Kate found it “terrifying” when George was born, the pregnancy was also challenging.
In 2012, when she was pregnant with their firstborn son, she was diagnosed with hyperemesis gravidarum, which is acute morning sickness. She had to go to the hospital, an experience she recalled as “rotten.”
Kate had the same experience when pregnant with Charlotte and Louis, and in 2014, she had to cancel a royal tour because of her diagnosis.
Last year, during a visit to the Orchards Centre in Kent, the Princess of Wales decided to open up about her experience with acute morning sickness.
“I was really sick”
As reported by Express, Kate spoke to a father whose wife went through the same thing and told him: “I went through that. I know what that feels like.”
In 2020, Kate Middleton was a guest on Giovanna Fletcher’s podcast Happy Mum, Happy Baby, speaking on her condition.
“[It was] utterly rotten. I was really sick,” she said. “I wasn’t eating the things I should be eating and yet the body was still able to take all the goodness from my body and to grow new life, which I think is fascinating.”
“William didn’t feel he could do much to help and it’s hard to see you’re suffering without actually being able to do anything about it.”
Kate Middleton added that she “quite liked” labor because she had felt bad during her pregnancy.
“Because actually, it was an event that I knew there was going to be an ending to,” she explained. “But I know some people have really, really difficult times, so it’s not for everybody. No pregnancy is the same, no birth is the same.”
Moreover, Kate began meditating and deep breathing – which helped.
“I saw the power of it really, the meditation and the deep breathing and things like that, that they teach you in hypnobirthing, when I was really sick,” she said. “I got very bad morning sickness, so I’m not the happiest of pregnant people.”
The podcast host Giovanna Fletcher later asked, “Have you had it every time or just the first time?”
“Yes, unfortunately,” Kate responded. “Lots of people have it far, far worse, but it was definitely a challenge. Not just for me but also for your loved ones around you – and I think that’s the thing – being pregnant and having a newborn baby and things like that, impacts everybody in the family.”