A Palace source has reportedly responded to claims that Kate Middleton was in a coma

The Princess of Wales is currently recovering from "successful" abdominal surgery, returning home to Windsor after a 13-day stay at the London Clinic private hospital earlier this month. 

The Palace confirmed that Kate had undergone surgery in a rare announcement, stating that 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." 

Despite the royal family's transparency with Princess Kate's progress, hospital time and recovery, there has unsurprisingly been a lot of speculation.

And while Kensington Palace revealed that it would "only provide updates on Her Royal Highness' progress when there is significant new information to share", one palace source reportedly stepped in this month to debunk a major rumour.

The report in question came from Spanish journalist Concha Calleja, who reportedly claimed that the Princess of Wales' life was in "great danger" after surgery and that she had been placed "in an induced coma".

"The doctors had to take drastic decisions at that moment because of the complications that arose," Calleja reported, via her reported source - an aide from the royal household, according to The Times. "The decision was to put her in an induced coma. They had to intubate her. There were serious complications that they didn’t expect because the operation went well, but the postoperative period didn’t go so well."

A palace source however is reported to have debunked the rumour to The Times, telling the publication: "It’s total nonsense. No attempt was made by that journalist to fact-check anything that she said with anyone in the household. It’s fundamentally, totally made-up, and I’ll use polite English here: it’s absolutely not the case."

Kensington Palace announced the news last week that Kate had returned home to continue her recovery in Windsor, where she is expected to remain for the foreseeable future. And as yet, based on the current medical advice, she is not expected to return to public duties until after Easter.

"The Princess of Wales has returned home to Windsor to continue her recovery from surgery," read the most recent statement from Kensington Palace. "She is making good progress."

The statement continued: "The Prince and Princess wish to say a huge thank you to the entire team at The London Clinic, especially the dedicated nursing staff, for the care they have provided. The Wales family continues to be grateful for the well wishes they have received from around the world."

We will continue to update this story.