There are, it turns out, three certainties in this life: death, taxes, and Kensington Palace’s ability to put out a perfectly timed photograph of the Princess of Wales wearing skinny jeans and surrounded by her children at their most angelic-looking. This time, said picture took the form of a “Happy Mother’s Day” post, captured by William at the Cambridges’s home in Windsor “earlier this week,” according to the accompanying Buckingham Palace press release. “Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the last two months,” reads the caption attributed to “C,” or Catherine. “Wishing everyone a Happy Mother’s Day.”
The post comes, of course, after weeks of frequently ridiculous, borderline hysterical speculation about where, exactly, the Princess of Wales had disappeared to while recovering from abdominal surgery—despite the fact that the Palace had released a statement on 17 January explaining that she would be at home recovering in Berkshire until April, and that it would “only [be providing] updates on Her Royal Highness’ progress when there is significant new information to share.” It doubled down on that stance when the X frenzy around #katemiddletonmissing reached its peak: “We were very clear from the outset that the Princess of Wales was out until after Easter and Kensington Palace would only be providing updates when something was significant.”
Based on today’s photograph, the wildest change the Princess has made in her weeks out of the spotlight is no longer dressing her children in coordinating blue (with apologies to those who had their money on some sort of radical Kardashian-esque transformation in the office sweepstakes). Perched on a wicker chair on the patio of Adelaide Cottage, her signature blow-out in place, she’s wearing a jacket that feels Barbour-esque, and wrapping her arms around Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, while Prince George hugs her shoulders, beaming at the camera. They look, for all the world, like a family delighted that one of their own is finally on the mend after quietly recovering from major surgery in the privacy of her home. Who would have thought it?