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Kate's childhood ordeal: Palace reveals Duchess's serious childhood operation that left her with huge scar on her head

By Rebecca English, Royal Correspondent

Last updated at 6:08 PM on 27th October 2011



Shimmering in silver, the Duchess of Cambridge conducted her first solo engagement as a royal yesterday – and displayed a hitherto unknown childhood secret.

Underneath Kate’s stylish half-up, half-down hairstyle a prominent three-inch scar could be seen on the side of her left temple.




A spokesman for the Duchess at St James’s Palace confirmed last night that it was the result of surgery as a young child. ‘The scar related to a childhood operation,’ they said.

The palace declined to discuss what kind of operation because it was, they said, a private matter.

Senior royal sources also confirmed that it had been ‘a very serious operation’ but declined to comment further.

John Scurr, consultant surgeon at the Lister Hospital in London, said it was unlikely to have been the result of a tumour.

‘I really doubt it was any serious medical condition and I would say it is as a result of an arteriovenous malformation – a birthmark – being removed, ‘ he said.

Kate is not alone in having a prominent childhood scar on her head. Her husband, William, bears a large zig-zag mark on his forehead as a result of being hit with a golf club when he was 13. He calls it his ‘Harry Potter scar’.

The duchess was conducting her first solo engagement as a member of the Royal Family, standing in for her father-in-law, Prince Charles.




The prince had been due to host a glitzy black-tie private dinner at Clarence House, his London residence, in aid of In Kind Direct, a charity he set up in 1996.

Unfortunately Charles was suddenly required to fly to Riyadh to present condolences to the Saudi Royal Family following the death of the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia.

So he called his new daughter-in-law and asked if she would step in.

Apparently Kate was ‘delighted’ to have been asked and spent the previous day mugging up on the charity, which redistributes surplus goods from manufacturers and retailers to UK charities working at home and abroad.

She even apparently ‘tapped’ up her mother, Carole Middleton, to see if she had any spare stock at Party Pieces, the family firm which sells children’s party goods over the internet.

A St James's Palace spokesman said: ‘The Duchess of Cambridge was delighted to be able to step in for her father-in-law, The Prince of Wales.’

Kate, 29, looked stunning – if a little slender – in an unusually sexy vintage silver evening gown with a delicately beaded halter neck that extended round her bust. The dress was designed by one of her favourite couturiers, Amanda Wakeley, and was from her Winter 2006 collection.

At last night’s event Kate chatted knowledgeably about the charity’s work at a 45-minute champagne reception in the Garden Room before leading the 30 guests through to the dining room for dinner.



An apologetic message from the prince was then read out in which he referred to ‘darling daughter-in-law’.

A palace aide revealed: ‘The Duchess had a little bit of time beforehand to prepare for the engagement - it all went very well.