Kensington Palace has posted thank you notes to members of the public who sent their best wishes to the Princess of Wales as she recovers from her health setbacks.

The short note on the postcard, which featured the palace’s letterhead, read: “Thank you for your kind well wishes to Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales. Your thoughtful gesture is very much appreciated.”

In a break with tradition, no photo accompanied the note, which was instead left blank on one side.

Princess Kate sends thank you card following her health setback

The palace usually sends out thank you cards on behalf of the Prince and Princess of Wales on special occasions, for example when they have received correspondence to mark their birthdays, their children’s birthdays, their wedding anniversary, and national holidays like Christmas.

Earlier this year, William and Kate thanked fans for their festive wishes by sending a card that featured their Christmas 2023 family photo taken by fashion and portrait photographer Josh Skinner.

In the striking black-and-white picture, the Waleses coordinated in jeans and white shirts.

The Waleses’ Christmas 2023 thank you card

The message on the card read: “Thank you for your thoughtful Christmas message to The Prince and Princess of Wales, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.

“Their Royal Highnesses are very grateful and send you their best wishes for a very Happy New Year.”

The start of the year has been difficult for the royal family, in particular for the Waleses. In January, Princess Kate had planned surgery on her abdominal area. At the time, it was thought her condition was non-cancerous, however further tests discovered cancer.

The Princess, 42, is now undergoing preventative chemotherapy and is not expected to return to public-facing duties any time soon, despite initially aiming for an Easter comeback.

Her father-in-law King Charles, who had a procedure in January on his enlarged prostate, is also battling an undisclosed form of cancer.