Kate Middleton news: Princess of Wales to be 'honoured with three cheers' at St Patrick's Day parade as she misses major event

Princess Kate will be honoured by three cheers at a St Patrick's Day parade today (Sunday 17 March) as she continues to rest after her surgery. Kate, 42, is missing the event at the Mons Barracks in Aldershot, Hampshire, for the first time in seven years. She has attended every other parade since 2012.

In light of Kate's absence, the soldiers are going to honour her with three cheers as their parade draws to a close, People reports. Prince William will also not be attending the parade.

It comes amid speculation on where Princess Kate is as she has now been out of the public eye since the Christmas service in Sandringham in December last year. It was revealed in January she had been admitted to The London Clinic for a "major planned abdominal surgery".

Kensington Palace said at the time Kate was unlikely to return to public duties until after Easter. However, rumours were sparked over the princess' health when William pulled out of a memorial service last month due to a "personal matter".

Fans were then overjoyed when Kate posted a heart-warming picture with her children on Mother's Day but experts soon revealed that the picture had been edited - and it was removed shortly after. Kate apologised in a statement which read: "Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing. I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused. I hope everyone celebrating had a very happy Mother’s Day.”

Image metadata said the photograph had been edited on Adobe Photoshop. The palace refused to reissue the original unedited photograph of Kate and her children.

The following day, the princess was pictured with her head turned from photographers as she left Windsor Castle by car with William at her side. Kate was on her way to a private appointment in London, while William headed to the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey.