Here Are the Royals Who Will Likely Step Up While King Charles and Kate Middleton Recover

The royal family is dealing with a lot. As part of a working royal’s role, they’re required to complete what are known as royal engagements, which can consist of anything from a walkabout to greet the public to a charitable visit or any sort of education appearance. Each year, the royal family members complete more than a thousand engagements as a combined unit — but with King Charles and Kate Middleton both taking time off due to surgery (Charles’ surgery is shortly after Kate’s), other royals will need to step up.

Here’s who royal fans can expect to see while Kate and Charles are at home recovering.

Various royals, including Princess Anne, will likely step up their engagements

On January 17, it was announced that Kate had undergone “planned” abdominal surgery but would spend the next two weeks in the hospital and the following two months recovering. The specifics remain unknown, and the princess wishes for privacy during this time, but many royal fans have already wished her a speedy recovery. Shortly after Kate’s surgery was announced, the royal family also released a statement that Charles would have corrective surgery, meaning both of them would be out for a little while at the same time.

It’s likely that other members of the royal family, such as Princess Anne and Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, will step up their royal engagements in place of Charles and Kate. According to Express, Charles’ siblings, will likely do the bulk of the royal appearances. Specifically, Edward, Anne, and Edward’s wife Sophie. Of course, nothing is set in stone, but Prince William is also taking some time away from the royal spotlight to help his wife and care for his kids. With that said, the three most prominent working royals will all be out of the spotlight at the same time.

Little is known about Kate Middleton’s situation

The royal family has two rules: Never complain, and never explain. In this case, they are sticking true to that second rule by keeping quiet about the details of Kate’s surgery (it’s been revealed that Charles is having surgery for an enlarged prostate). With that said, though, many people choose to keep their personal medical situations private.

Part of the royal family’s Instagram statement read, “The Princess of Wales appreciates the interest this statement will generate. 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 wording suggests that Kate has undergone something that she doesn’t want her kids to know the full details on, which is perfectly understandable given their ages. Time will tell if the princess reveals details of her surgery, but the public seemingly respects her privacy regardless.