UPDATE MARCH 10: I am happy to say I was wrong about the likelihood of a new photo for Mothering Sunday! Kensington Palace released a new photo of the Princess of Wales and the Wales children today to mark Mothering Sunday. Prince William took it last week at Windsor.
Here is the message accompanying the photo.
NOTE: Sunday night, several photo agencies, including Getty, Reuters, AP, and AFP, stopped distributing the photo, with some issuing a “kill notification,” essentially retracting the image. The Associated Press said, “It appeared the source had manipulated the image in a way that did not meet AP’s photo standards. The photo shows an inconsistency in the alignment of Princess Charlotte’s left hand.”
NOTE #2 MAR 11: This morning, the Princess of Wales posted a message about the photo on social media. 
Buckingham Palace released a vintage photo of the King with his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II.
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I am back with a few news updates and a look at some of your favorite 2023 styles. There is little news to report as the Princess of Wales continues her recovery from abdominal surgery. A paparazzi photo of the Princess and her mother taken on Monday near Windsor Castle was published in some US news outlets this week (search “Page Six and Kate Middleton” if interested in seeing the photo). To mark International Women’s Day today, Kensington Palace posted a thread on social media about inspiring women the Prince and Princess of Wales have encountered in the last year.
Happy International Women’s Day! Celebrating the impact of amazing women today, and every day. Here are just a few of the brilliant women we’ve been inspired by over the past 12 months. #IWD2024
— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) March 8, 2024
The post includes a photo of the Princess with Sarah Goldson, the Ball Boys and Girls Manager at Wimbledon. 
As well as an image of the Princess with Dr. Gubby Ayida, the Evelina London CEO, taken during an engagement last December.
A third image is from last November; you see the Princess with the founder of Sebby’s Corner baby bank, Bianca Sakol. 
This Sunday is Mothering Sunday; it is *possible* that a photo will be released to mark the occasion, but I am not banking on that happening.
The King continues carrying out a scaled-back number of engagements as he receives cancer treatment. In this photo released on Wednesday by Buckingham Palace, you see the King speaking with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. 
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Now for our review of poll results. We’ll begin with your favorite new dress worn by the Princess last year. 
Here is how the voting stacked up: with almost 2100 votes cast, the results were relatively close, with the Alexander McQueen design worn to Royal Ascot coming in as your favorite. The Alessandra Rich design worn for Order of the Garter was second, with the Andrew Gn style placing third.
Your favorite new coat was no surprise, with the teal Catherine Walker worn for the annual St. Patrick’s Day shamrock ceremony with the Irish Guards taking first place. 
It was followed by the Chris Kerr design worn in early December at the taping of Royal Carols: Together At Christmas and a cape by Catherine Walker seen in November for the Korea state visit.
Now for a look at accessories, starting with your favorite new hat from 2023. The bespoke design by Philip Treacy worn at Trooping the Colour was a clear favorite.
The Jane Taylor Clio hat from St. Patrick’s Day was your second choice, followed by the Sahar Millinery style worn at an event marking the first anniversary of the death of Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. 
When it came to footwear, the Aquazzura Bow Tie Pumps worn by the Princess for a pre-coronation reception and walkabout received the most votes.
The results show that Jennifer Chamandi’s Vittorio 105 Slingback Pumps received the next highest number of votes, and a pair of Pointed Ballet Flats (sold out) by Boden came in third. One note: I forgot to include the Emmy London Lulu Pointed Flats, so the results do not accurately reflect how the voting might have gone had I remembered them.
The Princess carried several new handbags in 2023. The style you liked the most was by Strathberry, the Scottish brand’s Mosaic Grain Leather Top-Handle Bag, which came in well ahead of the next handbag choices. 
Chanel’s Mini Flap Bag in black lambskin easily took second place, with the Jennifer Chamandi Le 8 Gold Buckle bag in third.
Our final poll category is evening gowns. 
With 2130 votes, the big favorite was the Elie Saab design worn to the June wedding of Jordan’s Crown Prince Hussein and his bride, Princess Rajwa Al Hussein. In second place is the vibrant blue ‘Marlowe’ gown by Jenny Packham, with the ‘Georgia’ gown, also a Jenny Packham design, receiving the third most votes.
Here, you can see how close the voting was between the two Jenny Packham styles.
I’ll close with a Friday Flashback showing the Princess a year ago today. 
She took part in a training exercise with the Irish Guards.
It was her first visit with the Guards since being named Colonel of the Regiment.
The Princess wore a standard-issue British Army Windproof Smock over Holland Cooper’s Astoria Rollneck Sweater (£99), a pair of G-Star Raw High G-Shape Cargo Skinny Pants ($120), and her Berghaus Supalite Boots (£185, roughly $235 at today’s exchange rates).
ElizaMo
Sunday 17th of March 2024
I'm so impressed by the breadth of discussion on the poor old photo here. I had been in hiding and not checking in. I think I'm still in shock at the strength of the artificially engineered outrage by a bunch of determined disruptors. I still don't believe this was a pr disaster of such proportions that none of the Royal Family can be trusted again, but an inexcusable witch-hunt. It becomes ever harder to find peaceful ways to follow royal progress and I'm so thankful this page remains a source of reasoned debate and free from hysterical attacks. Thank you everyone.
Margaret
Sunday 17th of March 2024
As some have pointed out, this photo looks like it was taken in November at the Christmas Baby Banks Charity Event. Kate was wearing the same style turtleneck but in cream rather than the navy, and was wearing the same jeans and boots. Charlotte was wearing the identical sweater and in navy leggings as in this photo. Only her skirt was different. But if her plaid skirt was photoshopped into this picture, that would explain the obvious problem of the plaid skirt pattern bleeding into her left sleeve, and also the strange misalignment of the top of the right side of her skirt. Louis and George were wearing similar sweaters and shirts, but in different colors/patterns. It is not uncommon for the family to release photos taken earlier for special events. They have done it numerous times for Christmas cards, for instance. If they had simply released an un-doctored photo, there would have been no controversy, and people would have understood this was just a Mothering Sunday greeting, but was not an up-to-date photo of Kate.
Cindy
Saturday 16th of March 2024
In the words of Laura Ingalls Wilder's ma, "Least said, soonest mended". All are agreed we will welcome the PoW back when she is ready.
Blackberry
Saturday 16th of March 2024
I wholeheartedly agree that Kate has a right to medical privacy. What I want to know, is that she’s ok. Why from the beginning haven’t there been “thank you to the medical staff,” pictures of her hand (just her hand!) on get well cards, a message saying she’s looking forward to working when she can? This is what feels ominous to me, the departure from their usual PR strategies, odd behavior from William, etc. They could have handled this soooooo much better while completely protecting her medical privacy and putting the rumors to rest. NOTE: admin edit
Adrienne
Sunday 17th of March 2024
@Blackberry, Very good points and I feel the same way.
Zell
Saturday 16th of March 2024
@Blackberry,
For me, your take is a very fair assessment and your points are spot on. I think some here may be confusing or conflating understandable concern and worry for Catherine, with people on the net who are feverishly coming up with all kinds of crazy conspiracy theories, and are demanding a full medical report on the PoW. Some more info on the situation, without saying too much (such as how King Charles has dealt with his illness) would have gone far to keep the crazier stuff at bay.
Dawn C
Saturday 16th of March 2024
I'm late to the discussion but I want to add perspective. As someone who has had abdominal surgery, "planned" doesn't mean all goes according to plan. I had an abdominal wall endometrioma (Google is your friend here) that was encroaching on my sigmoid colon and from every scan my surgeons looked at it seemed like a simple surgery. Go in laparoscopic and remove it from my abdominal wall and peel it off my colon, secure the incisions and I go home the next day. HA!
What really happened is they got in there and realized the AWE was wrapped around my colon and would eventually cut off blood supply and I would die. It took them HOURS to remove the AWE and they ended up having to take a third of my sigmoid colon. I woke up not with dermabond closing my three small incisions but with a negative pressure bandage from just below my navel to my pubic bone. I was in the hospital four days (the first time) and it was four months before I could stand up straight and walk like a human being. A month before I could wear anything with a waist. I was so bloated at times I looked 5 months pregnant. And I was in great physical shape when all of this happened. This was done at one of the best hospitals here in the U.S. by their top two surgeons in the field of gynecology and general abdominal surgery.
I tell my story just to say things don't always go as planned. None of us knows anything and neither do so-called "royal experts". There is no reason why W&C should feel pressured to tell anyone anything beyond what they have regarding her status. They said she'd be back at/after Easter and there are weeks to go still. As for the picture debacle...... If you're used to being super active and you really can't be for months due to lack of mobility during recovery it drives. you. nuts. So what if she edited a photo. They're her photos to do with as she pleases and we can all be glad she has a low-key hobby that keeps her "busy" while recovering from what must have been an involved surgery.
I just look forward to seeing her out and about again when she's ready. 😊
Iwantprincessstreetwear
Wednesday 20th of March 2024
@Dawn C, as a further note, I had surgery that was also “planned.” It was life-threatening, but we were scheduling it for a month down the road. It became a greater, more imminent emergency and was moved to as soon as possible, which overall I think took 2 or 3 days. Just to say that anything that isn’t an emergency call straight into surgery, is considered to be “planned.”