Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales, is in hospital recovering from abdominal surgery, Kensington Palace has confirmed.
The 42-year-old is expected to remain in hospital for 10-14 days after having the surgery and has cancelled her commitments for the foreseeable future.
Princess Catherine is not expected to resume her Royal duties until after Easter, depending on medical advice nearer the time according to reports.
Kensington Palace confirmed the news in a statement, writing: "Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales was admitted to The London Clinic yesterday for planned abdominal surgery."
The statement continued: "The surgery was successful and it is expected that she will remain in hospital for ten to fourteen days, before returning home to continue her recovery.
"Based on the current medical advice, she is unlikely to return to public duties until after Easter."
It added: "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.
"Kensington Palace will, therefore, only provide updates on Her Royal Highness' progress when there is significant new information to share.
"The Princess of Wales wishes to apologise 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."
Following her eventual discharge, Kate is then expected to return home to Windsor to continue her recovery at home with Prince William and their children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis.
There are no further details on the reasons for Kate's surgery, however it has been reported that she was not rushed into hospital and that the procedure was planned for some time.
Prince William is also expected to postpone a number of engagements and will not undertake official duties while his wife is in hospital. according to the Daily Mail, as well as during the immediate period after her return home.
Royal officials are expected to provide an updated schedule for his commitments in due course, and the couple will not be traveling internationally over the coming months.
Royal expert Phil Dampier tweeted: "Wishing the Princess of Wales a speedy recovery after abdominal surgery. We don't know the details but clearly this was serious as she will be in hospital for a fortnight and needs up to three months to recover."
Queen Elizabeth II's former press secretary Dickie Arbiter added: "I am sure I speak for everyone in wishing HRH a speedy recovery."
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