The first official photo of the Princess of Wales since her abdominal surgery in January has been released by Kensington Palace.

The image, taken by Prince William at Windsor earlier this week, shows the princess with her three children.

The photo is accompanied by a Mother's Day message along with a "thank you" from the princess for the public's "continued support".

She is not expected to return to public duties before Easter.

In a message shared on social media, Catherine said: "Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the last two months.

"Wishing everyone a Happy Mother's Day."

The photo shows the princess sitting down, surrounded by Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis and Prince George, wrapping his arms around her.

Catherine, 42, spent 13 nights at the London Clinic, near Regent's Park in central London, following the surgery.

Prince William visited his wife during her stay and she was visited by the King before he had his own treatment there.

The Palace has shared few details about her condition, which has garnered significant social media speculation, but has said it is not cancer-related.

The team supporting the princess as she recovers is small and limited to those closest to her.

At the time of her stay, the Palace said the princess wanted her personal medical information to remain private, adding that she wanted to "maintain as much normality for her children as possible".

It said it would only provide updates on her recovery when there was significant new information to share.

This photo will go some way to quell some of the more extreme theories around the princess's absence from the public stage.

It is a managed attempt to reassure those concerned that the princess is, as her team have repeated, "doing well".

Sources close to William and Catherine have insisted that the focus was on giving her space to recover away from the scrutiny and judgement the spotlight brings.