Kate Middleton pays bar tab after missing St. Patrick’s Day event

Kate, the Princess of Wales, is resuming her royal duties behind the scenes as she continues to recover from abdominal surgery.

Kate, 42, has not made any official public appearances since undergoing surgery in mid-January, an absence that forced her to miss the annual Irish Guards march on St. Patrick's Day, an event she has attended in past years as honorary Colonel of the Irish Guards, a title she inherited in 2022 from her husband, Prince William.

While not able to attend in person, Kate helped pay the bar tab for soldiers celebrating on St. Patrick's Day, ABC News has confirmed.

In past years, Kate and William were known to join officers and their families on St. Patrick's Day in sipping Guinness and enjoying a traditional Irish lunch.

Kate has also been following her various projects and patronages during her recovery.

A Kensington Palace spokesperson confirmed to ABC News the princess has been "kept updated" on an early childhood development study in the United Kingdom, based on one she had seen in Denmark. The pilot study is funded by her center, the Royal Foundation Center for Early Childhood.

Kate, a mom of three, has made early childhood development a focus of her royal work. She launched the center in 2021 to serve as the hub of her early childhood efforts.

"The Princess has been kept updated throughout the process," the palace spokesperson told ABC News of the U.K. study.

The work behind the scenes by Kate comes as she is expected to resume her public duties after the Easter holiday.

The palace has not shared what type of surgery Kate underwent in January other than to say it was non-cancerous.

Her absence from the spotlight combined with the few updates from the palace on her health and a photo editing controversy that led to a Mother's Day photo of Kate with her children being retracted by multiple news agencies have led to a frenzy of online speculation about Kate's health and well-being.

In addition to the Mother's Day photo released by the palace, the only other public sightings of Kate have been a paparazzi photo of her in the car with her mom in early March and, more recently, a video showing William and Kate at a local farm shop in Windsor, where they live.

While the online speculation about Kate has grown, William and other members of Britain's royal family have continued on with public engagements.

William has only spoken publicly about Kate's health once, in February, when he thanked attendees at a gala for the "kind messages of support," saying, "It means a great deal to us all."

William, who took time off earlier this year to support Kate, on Tuesday visited Sheffield, England, to talk with locals about housing insecurity.

On Wednesday, he paid a private visit closer to home, near Windsor, with the Welsh Guards at the Combermere Barracks.

Queen Camilla meanwhile traveled this week to Northern Ireland.

Camilla visited Belfast solo as her husband, King Charles III, is taking a step back from royal duties as he battles cancer.