The King and his daughter-in-law Kate, the Princess of Wales, were both discharged from a London hospital after surgeries on Tuesday to spend the next several weeks recuperating.

The question now is … who will “pick up the slack” for official duties?

Kate, 42, the wife of heir-to-the-British-throne Prince William, was making “good progress”, a Kensington Palace statement said, after planned abdominal surgery for a non-specified but non-cancerous condition at the London Clinic on January 17.

She spent 13 days in hospital and won’t be back on official duties until after Easter. Kate is now at home on the Windsor Castle estate, west of London.

The King, 75, spent three nights in hospital after undergoing a corrective procedure for an enlarged prostate, with Buckingham Palace confirming he has “rescheduled forthcoming public engagements to allow for a period of private recuperation”.

Rest and recovery is paramount.

The Mirror‘s UK royal expert, Russell Myers, who is also a regular on the tabloid’s royal podcast Pod Save The King, said Prince William was also out of the loop until the Adelaide Cottage household settled and the couple’s children, George, 10, Charlotte, 8, and five-year-old Louis, were back in a routine.

“[He’s] also taken a leave of absence, not only looking after the children but making sure she is OK once she is back in Windsor.

“They are thin on the ground,” he told Nine’s Today Extra show on Tuesday.

“Charles has always spoken over the last few years about this slimmed-down monarchy … and it is pretty slim.

“You’re talking about the main players out of the game for a good few weeks.”

The Princess Royal and her husband Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence in Sri Lanka as part of a three-day visit. Photo: Getty

So who’s holding the fort?

Myers reported that the Palace contacted Kate’s “30 charities to postpone and reschedule engagements”.

“Her assistant private secretary Natalie Barrows has stepped up –  along with William’s private secretary Jean-Christophe Gray – to help ensure her work continues,” he wrote.

He said the princess’s recent official commitments included Shaping Up, a campaign to raise public awareness of the importance of the first five years of a child’s life.

The Queen “has definitely been picking up the slack”, he said, as had “workhorse” Princess Anne, who has been in Sri Lanka, where she marked 75 years of diplomatic relations between the UK and the island.

The official royal.uk website is flooded with images and stories of both Anne, and the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, Prince Edward and Princess Sophie.

Described as “the steady hand of the royal family”, the Princess Royal – the King’s only sister – packed in a host of duties during her three-day trip to Sri Lanka earlier this month, the first international trip of 2024 by a British royal.

She stepped out solo to pay her first visit to a Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery as president on Friday, visited one of the largest apparel tech companies in South Asia, and visited Save The Children Sri Lanka’s head office in Colombo.

Anne and Sir Tim also went barefoot inside a Hindu temple, where she fed cattle and he smashed a coconut to “banish bad luck”, according to People.

In December, Anne was labelled the hardest-working royal after clocking up 457 engagements to assist her brother in his first year as monarch.

“She just gets on with it, often carrying out multiple engagements in one day,” Queen Elizabeth’s former press spokesman Dickie Arbiter told the Telegraph at the time of Anne’s “tireless dedication”.

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Meanwhile, the Duke of Edinburgh – the King’s youngest brother – was on official duties in South Africa and on the remote tropical island of St Helena to open its airport.

Tatler reports he met 191-year-old tortoise Jonathan, who has also gone face to face with George VI, Elizabeth II, Princess Margaret and the Queen Mother.

Edward’s trip took four days to get to the island, a non-sovereign British Overseas Territory in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is most famous for Napoleon’s exile in 1815 following his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo.

Edward’s wife Sophie stayed in the UK supporting local charities, including Foodbank.

The King and Queen as he left hospital in London on Monday. Photo: AP

William will return to ‘frontline’ duties

By all accounts from the British press, the public will get to see more of William as he returns to frontline engagements over the next few weeks.

The palace confirmed Kate was back at home on the Windsor estate, west of London.

“She is making good progress,” her office said.

“The prince and princess wish to say a huge thank you to the entire team at the London Clinic, especially the dedicated nursing staff, for the care they have provided.”

Few details of Kate’s illness or surgery have been given as Britain’s royals usually regard all medical issues as a private matter.

The King, however, chose to publicise his condition to encourage other men to have medical checks.

Buckingham Palace said in a statement that the King, who was visited in hospital by the Queen each day of his stay, wanted to thank his medical team and all those who had supported his hospital visit.

“The King was this afternoon discharged from hospital following planned medical treatment and has rescheduled forthcoming public engagements to allow for a period of private recuperation,” Buckingham Palace said.

The state-run National Health Service said there had been a 1000 per cent increase in visits to its webpage giving advice on prostate enlargement since the King’s diagnosis was revealed.

“With the King recovering from corrective treatment and William – the next in line to the throne – and Kate out of action for the immediate future, Charles’ slimmed-down monarchy – with three of the most senior royals missing – has been put under pressure in a way not seen before during his reign,” Myers said.