Princess Kate Middleton was spotted out and about for the first time following her months-long recovery from abdominal surgery.

The Princess of Wales, 42, was seen in a car alongside her mother, Carole Middleton, on Monday, March 4, in photos obtained by TMZ. Kate wore sunglasses while sitting in the passenger’s seat of the vehicle.

This outing marks the first time Kate has been seen in public since December 2023.

Kensington Palace announced in January that Kate was hospitalized for “planned abdominal surgery,” which was “successful.” The statement noted that Kate would spend “10 to 14 days” at The London Clinic before “returning home to continue her recovery,” adding that she was “unlikely to return to public duties until after Easter,” which falls on March 31.

“The Princess of Wales appreciates the interest this statement will generate. She hopes that the public will understand her desire to maintain as much normality for her children as possible; and her wish that her personal medical information remains private,” the statement continued. “The Princess of Wales wishes to apologize to all those concerned for the fact that she has to postpone her upcoming engagements. She looks forward to reinstating as many as possible, as soon as possible.”

Prince William, who has been married to Kate since April 2011, took a brief hiatus from his own duties to be present for the couple’s children, Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, 5, following Kate’s operation.

“Everything [William] does is about normalizing royal life [and] normalizing just trying to make everything as unobtrusive for the kids as possible so that being a sort of school-age royal is not something that’s scary,” royal expert Robert Hardman told Us Weekly in January. “So if Mum’s in hospital, he knows he’s got to be there. Otherwise, it’s unsettling for the children if both parents are out of the house. He’s being a modern dad.”

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Later that month, Kensington Palace confirmed that Kate had “returned home to Windsor to continue her recovery from surgery” and was “making good progress.” A source told Us at the time that William, 41, and Kate’s kids had “all made her some ‘get well soon’ cards along with some of her favorite snacks,” adding that Kate was “eager to get back to work” after she healed.

Amid Kate’s retreat from the public eye, rumors swirled about her condition, with a Spanish journalist claiming that she was in a coma after suffering complications from the procedure. A royal source assured Us in February that there was “absolutely no truth to the report.”

Meanwhile, William returned to work shortly after Kate was discharged from the hospital. In February, he attended the 2024 BAFTA Awards by himself, apologizing for Kate’s absence and confessing that he had not watched all of the movies nominated at the ceremony because he’d had “a lot on [his] mind.” Later that month, William pulled out of an appearance at a memorial service for his godfather King Constantine of Greece, with the palace citing a “personal matter” but clarifying that Kate was still doing well as she recuperated.

William failed to respond to a question about Kate’s recovery on March 1. And, after speculation started to swirl online about her whereabouts, a spokesperson for the princess shut down the rumors.

“Kensington Palace made it clear in January the timelines of the princess’ recovery and we’d only be providing significant updates,” a rep for Kate told Us Weekly in a statement on Thursday, February 29. “That guidance stands.”