Here’s Where Princess Kate and Her Mother, Carole Middleton, Were Going When They Were Spotted Driving Yesterday

When the Princess of Wales was spotted out in public yesterday—the first time she’s been seen since Christmas Day, a full 70 days prior—she was seen riding in the passenger seat of a car driven by her mother, Carole Middleton. What were the two women up to on their drive? Well, it turns out, a very relatable activity.

The mother-daughter duo were, The Daily Express reports, on the school run, on the way back from dropping off Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis at Lambrook School, where all three attend. Kate “flashed a seemingly low-key smile as she was snapped in the front seat of her mum, Carole Middleton’s, car today,” the outlet reported.

After her last public appearance on Christmas Day, where she attended church at St. Mary Magdalene at Sandringham alongside the rest of the royal family, Kate wasn’t seen publicly as the new year dawned. On January 17, Kensington Palace reported that the day prior, Kate underwent a planned abdominal surgery, and that she would be recovering and off of public royal duties until after Easter, which this year falls on March 31.

Despite the Palace being quite clear about the timeline for when we can expect to see the Princess of Wales again, last week concerned speculation about Kate’s whereabouts reached fever pitch, particularly on social media. The fervor was so rampant that a representative for Kate issued a statement last Thursday, February 29, which read “Kensington Palace made it clear in January the timelines of the princess’ recovery and we’d only be providing significant updates. That guidance stands.”

Perhaps coincidentally, perhaps not, after over two months away, we saw Kate yesterday, albeit in grainy photos. The pictures—taken near Windsor Castle, where Kate and her family of five live at nearby Adelaide Cottage—showed Kate wearing sunglasses and a coat in the front passenger seat of an Audi 4x4, driven by Carole, one of her chief caretakers during her recovery. Kate’s husband Prince William has also partially stepped back from his own royal duties to take care of his wife and their three children; Kate’s sister Pippa Middleton Matthews, brother James Middleton, and the Wales family nanny, Maria Teresa Borrallo, have also been instrumental in Kate’s recovery.

Kate was released from The London Clinic on January 29 and chose to convalesce at Adelaide Cottage “to be close to her children,” The Daily Express reports. The Palace has confirmed that she is “doing well” in her recovery, and reports suggest that Carole and Pippa in particular have been caring for her closely “as she tries to get better and juggle family life,” the outlet reports.

And part of that juggling act includes, apparently, making time for the school run—something that has long been important to the princess as she seeks to maintain as much normalcy as possible for George, Charlotte, and Louis.