Secret signs Kate Middleton is preparing for life as queen after ‘absolutely devastating’ year: sources

She had been hospitalized for almost two weeks at the private London Clinic after having major abdominal surgery in January, and her announced disappearance from the spotlight prompted a surfeit of wild rumors.
Bethan Holt, fashion director at the UK Daily Telegraph, told Page Six that the casual outfit showed that Kate had gone back to “who she really is as a person, away from all the royal fanfare and the pomp.

“Those are pieces that you turn to if you’re going through a really difficult time with your health, so it’s quite relatable,” said Holt, who pointed out that, when Kate did step out in public for events like Trooping the Colour and Wimbledon, this year it must have been “utterly exhausting to really give us that vision of the Princess of Wales the world expects.”
For the family’s Christmas card that was released Thursday, Kate chose a photo taken from the September video in which she announced she had finished treatment in September. It shows Kate and William dressed casually and cuddling with their children.