Kate Middleton Sent a ‘Beautiful Letter’ amid Surgery Recovery to Comfort TV Host Whose Husband Died

Kate Middleton spoke to a British television channel lamenting the death of her husband while recovering from abdominal surgery.

On Monday, Kate Garraway revealed it Good morning Britain during her first appearance on the show following the death of her husband Derek Draper. Draper died in January at the age of 56 after complications from COVID-19, which he contracted in March 2020, and was laid to rest last Friday.

Garraway joined GMB from home and thanked viewers for their outpouring of sympathy, and revealed that she had received messages from David Beckham, Victoria Beckham, Princess Kate, Prince William and King Charles.

“And from the royal family – Catherine and William sent a beautiful letter and I know Catherine herself was in hospital,” Garraway said, Hello! the magazine reported. “Even the king – because there is someone [who] he knows about sadness — that anticipatory sadness where you know there’s a risk something will happen and how different it is when it does.”

Prince William returns to public duties as wife Kate Middleton continues to recover from surgery

According to the media outlet, the host said she was “sort of sworn to secrecy” about the contents of the royal correspondence, but spoke about what the gesture meant.

“I just think it was nice of them to reach out to me,” said Garraway, per Hello! magazine. “But it’s nice to know that these people understand those emotions. I think it connects us all.”

Draper previously worked as a political consultant and psychotherapist and is believed to be one of the UK’s longest-suffering COVID patients, having spent 13 months in hospital, Sky News reports. He accompanied his wife when she was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) at the investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle in June 2023, where she received the award from Prince William.

Garraway was recognized for her services to broadcasting, journalism and charity. She also used her platform to shine a light on the complications of COVID and her family’s experience.

The broadcaster created documentaries that won the National Television Kate Garraway: Finding Derek and Kate Garraway: Caring for Derek about her husband’s health journey and their family life.

The couple married in 2005 and share a daughter, Darcey, 17, and a son, Billy, 14.

Kate Garraway with husband Derek Draper and parents Gordon and Marilyn Garraway following her appointment as a Member of the Order of the British Empire at Windsor Castle on June 28, 2023.

Andrew Matthews / POOL / AFP via Getty

King Charles waves to well-wishers as he is seen for the first time since leaving hospital

While the reporter has been tight-lipped about the royal family’s crush, the news came on the same day it was confirmed that Prince William was returning to work after taking time off to care for Princess Kate.

The Princess of Wales, 42, left hospital last Monday almost two weeks after undergoing abdominal surgery, which Kensington Palace announced the next day.

During that time and since she was fired, Prince William, 41, has been helping look after their three children, Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, eight, and Prince Louis, five, at the family home, Adelaide Cottage, on the Windsor Castle estate.

And it is in Windsor that Prince William will host his first post-surgery public outing when he holds a morning investiture on behalf of King Charles – who is also recovering from his own prostate enlargement surgery – on Wednesday.

At the event, Prince William will reward members of the public and other dignitaries with honors given for the New Year or to mark the monarch’s birthday.

Prince William in Bournemouth in September 2023.

Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images

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Later on Wednesday, the Prince of Wales is also due to honor one of his key interests by attending an annual fundraising gala for the London Air Ambulance.

William, who was an air ambulance pilot for around two years in East Anglia, focuses much of his attention on highlighting the work of air medical teams and other emergency services and became a patron of the organization four years ago

Kate Middleton at the Shaping Us National Symposium at the Design Museum on November 15, 2023 in London.

Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty

The royal family has not given an update on Princess Kate’s progress as she recovers from surgery. Kensington Palace said she was “progressing well” when she left hospital on January 29.

“I’m sure she’s completely exhausted, but she’ll make a good recovery,” royal biographer Ingrid Seward tells PEOPLE exclusively in this week’s issue.

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Source: HIS Education