Catherine hospitalized; Charles will have prostate procedure

Moments after Kensington Palace confirmed that the Princess of Wales had been hospitalized in London after undergoing a planned abdominal surgery, Buckingham Palace announced that King Charles III would be undergoing a “corrective procedure” next week.

The 75-year-old British monarch will undergo the procedure for an enlarged prostate, a condition that Buckingham Palace said is benign but that requires “a short period of recuperation,” the Associated Press reported. The king sought treatment for the enlarged prostate “in common with thousands of men each year,” the palace said.

Meanwhile, his daughter-in-law Catherine, formerly Kate Middleton, was admitted to the London Clinic on Tuesday and underwent a successful surgery, Kensington Palace said Wednesday in a statement. The mother of three will likely be hospitalized for about two weeks but is expected to return to her public duties after Easter — which is March 31 this year — based on current medical advice, the palace said.

“The Princess of Wales appreciates the interest this statement will generate,” Kensington Palace said. “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 did not say what type of abdominal surgery she underwent but the palace confirmed to the Associated Press that it was noncancerous. The palace said it would only provide updates on the future queen’s 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,” the statement added. “She looks forward to reinstating as many as possible, as soon as possible.”

Catherine, who wed Britain’s future king Prince William, shares three children with the first in line to the British throne: son George, 10, daughter Charlotte, 8, and another son, Louis, 5. Although the senior royal has generally appeared to be in good health, she was hospitalized during her pregnancies for severe morning sickness.

Catherine was previously the Duchess of Cambridge — a title she received upon marrying William, the firstborn son of King Charles and the late Princess Diana. However, after the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022 (and the subsequent ascension of Charles to the throne), William and Catherine received Charles’ and Camilla’s former titles and are now the Prince and Princess of Wales.