A 'Subtle Rumor Squash': Princess Kate's Brief Outing With Carole Middleton Deemed a 'Brilliant' PR Move

Kate, Princess of Wales, was spotted in a car with her mother, Carole Middleton, on Monday, March 4, which some analysts are calling a PR move.

"It would have been a very brilliant way of scotching all the vile rumors that have been going around about her," royal reporter Michael Cole shared about the paparazzi-snapped image.

The Princess of Wales was previously last seen in public on Christmas Day last year at St Mary Magdalene Church. She underwent a "serious, major" abdominal surgery on January 16, and is expected to return to royal duties "after Easter."

"I've said that it would have been a good idea for Kensington Palace to be as candid as it could be when she went into hospital and to actually give some sort of guidance about her condition or even where she is now," Cole added. "Maybe somebody was listening, and that little expedition yesterday, knowing that there would be somebody around with the camera, might have snapped her. Maybe this was a very subtle way of scotching those rumors."

Cole then pushed back on claims that the media had every right to film her by stating: "Some of it [press coverage] was saying that she had been put into an induced coma and so on and so forth. Of course, Kensington Palace had to come out and say that it was totally ludicrous and nonsense."

The future queen stayed at the London Clinic until January 29 and has been recovering at Adelaide Cottage, near Windsor Castle, ever since.

But even those close to the inner circle of Prince William and Kate's life recently lashed out at all the "vile" things being suggested about Her Royal Highness' condition.

"Obviously, we've seen the madness of social media, and that is not going to change our strategy," Kensington Palace sources stated. "There has been much on social media, but the Princess has a right to privacy and asks the public to respect that. We were very clear from the outset that the Princess of Wales was out until after Easter, and Kensington Palace would only be providing updates when something was significant."

This statement comes after the Prince of Wales skipped a memorial service at the last minute for "personal reasons" on February 27. The palace released another statement that day to reiterate that the future queen was "doing well" in her recovery in tandem with his mysterious vanishing from his godfather's memorial service.

The Princess' upcoming work schedule is said to be "filled to the brim," which one source close to Kensington Palace said was the main reason she is "taking her time" to fully recover.

GBN reported on Cole's comments.