Secret signal in Kate Middleton's outfit? Princess of Wales made a subtle show of support for one of her patronages during farm trip shop with Prince William

Kate opted for an England Rugby Icon Hoodie Mens in Black & Orange READ MORE:  Kate Middleton pictured: 'Incredibly happy' Princess of Wales was 'reassuring fans and quashing all the rumours'

The Princess of Wales may have made a subtle hint she will be ready to return to work soon after donning a shirt from England Rugby team –  one of her patronages –  during a trip to a farm shop with Prince William.

Kate Middleton, 42, opted for black leggings, £128 Adidas Ultra Boost 20 Sneakers and an England Rugby Icon Hoodie Mens in Black & Orange for the shopping trip to the Windsor Farm Shop on Saturday lunchtime.

The snap was taken ahead of England’s game against on France in the Six Nations later that evening, perhaps suggesting Kate was picking up food to watch the match with her family.

Kate has been patron of the Rugby Football League and the Rugby Football Union since 2022, and often cheers on the England team.

She has missed the whole Six Nations tournament due to her recovery at home, but is perhaps showing a sign of support from home.

Kate took over the roles from her brother-in-law Prince Harry who used to enjoy cheering on England before he was forced to give up the patronage as part of the Megxit agreement.

The Princess of Wales may have made a subtle hint she will be ready to return to work soon after donning a shirt from England Rugby team – one of her patronages – during a trip to a farm shop with Prince William. She is pictured on a visit to Twickenham in 2022

Kate, who grew up watching rugby with her family, is known as one of the sportiest members of the Royal Family and has gamely taken on her husband in everything from dragon boating to wind buggy racing at royal engagements.

‘[The Duke and Duchess] are famously competitive with each other and this will be no different – probably even more so now that they have an invested interest in the outcome of the game,’ a source said when Kate’s patronage was announced.

It’s the first footage of the royal since her abdominal surgery in January, which also puts to bed concerns about her health and discredits bizarre and baseless conspiracy theories being spread about her online.

The mother-of-three is said to be believed to royal duty after Easter, when her children Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, eight, and Prince Louis, five, go back to school.

She is also royal patron of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club and is a frequent visitor to the Wimbledon Championships.

Less well known is her love of rugby.  Her sister, Pippa, wrote in Vanity Fair magazine in 2014: ‘Rugby was a big thing for our family, we’d plan our weekends around the big matches.’

A clip published by The Sun, also shows the royals carrying their own shopping.

Kate Middleton , 42, opted for black leggings and an England Rugby Icon Hoodie Mens in Black & Orange

She completed the look with £128 Adidas Ultra Boost 20 Sneakers

Kate has been patron of the Rugby Football League and the Rugby Football Union since 2022, and often cheers on the England team. She is pictured in September meeting players George Ford and Alex Mitchell in the dressing room after a match between England and Argentina in Marseilles, France

Kate Middleton beams as she applauds England’s rugby team after it saw off Fiji to progress to the semi-finals of the Rugby World Cup in October 2022

Body language expert Judi James has told MailOnline that Kate was exuding body confidence and showed no ‘frailty’ – in an appearance that was deliberately ‘reassuring fans and quashing all the toxic rumours’ swirling around her.

She said: ‘Kate walks ahead of William, taking large enough strides to suggest no hint of any ongoing frailty. While William keeps his face partially hidden under his cap and his head lowered, Kate’s body language here suggests a desire to be seen.

‘This is quite extraordinary body language behaviour for a leading royal out “incognito” in public and it suggests a point is, quite naturally, being made in terms of reassuring fans and quashing all the toxic rumours.

‘Her head is up and her long hair is billowing while she wears a cheek-rounded smile that seems to signal she is completely upbeat and cheerful’.

Judi added: ‘It is completely stunning to see the most sought-after woman in the world and the subject of speculation and rumours on social media suddenly appearing like this looking not just healthy, full of energy and incredibly happy but also making no apparent attempt to hide while out in public’.

The Princess of Wales, 41, places a congratulatory hand on the shoulder of Samoan-born centre Manu Tuilagi as she shakes his hand in the dressing room

Kensington Palace has not commented on the film where Kate strides from the Windsor Farm Shop – much loved by the couple and set up by William’s late grandfather Prince Philip – while carrying a substantial shopping bag on Saturday afternoon.

The couple had gone there for supplies having reportedly spent the morning watching their three children – George, 10, Charlotte, eight, and Louis, five, play sport.

Kate and William were not accompanied by their three children. The couple have, in recent weeks, been left deeply distressed by wild social media speculation and gossip about Kate’s health and whereabouts.

This has since been reported by publications ranging from the New York Times to British Vogue – and even become the subject of cruel mockery on prime time American television.

Global superstars such as Kim Kardashian have added fuel to the fire with posts about Kate’s ‘disappearance’ to their millions of fans.

The debacle over the princess’ well-meaning Mother’s Day photograph, which she later admitted to having tried to edit, only added to the swirl of speculation.

This was preceded by William’s sudden announcement he was pulling out of his godfather’s memorial service last month on what was only described as a ‘personal matter’ just 45 minutes before he had been due to give a reading.

Against the backdrop of the King’s cancer diagnosis, the drama has created a febrile atmosphere of gossip and conjecture around the Royal Family.

Sources close to the Wales’ have told the Mail they have found the speculation hugely hurtful and hard to deal with, but were determined to focus on what was important to them – their family and the princess’ recovery.

It comes amid reports that Kensington Palace is working with PR gurus to devise a Kate’s schedule when she returns to work.

Her new private secretary Lt Col Tom White and Williams private secretary Ian Patrick are believed to be part of a senior team working around the clock after outlandish rumours swirled around her absence from the public eye, The Mirror reports.

A source told the publication: ‘The teams are working round the clock to devise the Princess of Wales’s back-to-work plan after weeks of immense pressure. They all know that the world will be watching after weeks of heightened speculation and often outlandish commentary on social media.’

It is anticipated that the new image, showing the couple going about their normal lives, will go some way to calming many of the wilder rumours that have gripped people across the globe.

The snap was taken at 12.43pm on Saturday by a member of the public who was also at the farm shop, just a mile’s drive from the Wales’ Adelaide Cottage home, on their Apple iPhone 12 Pro phone.

The person concerned said they were visiting the shop to ‘kill time’ while on the way to meet someone to buy an item from Facebook when they recognised William and Kate and were struck by how ‘happy’ they looked.

Her Mother’s Day portrait was edited by the Princess of Wales to make the perfect family shot. But conspiracy theorists have used it to question everything about Kate’s health

They spotted the couple again in the car park and decided to capture the moment to share with their own delighted family.

‘When I went inside I looked around and noticed them. They all looked happy,’ the person, who wishes to remain anonymous, said.

‘To be honest I don’t follow this type of news but I shared [it] with my family – they were like ‘oh, she’s alive!’ ‘

He told TMZ: ‘I noticed a couple choosing loaves of bread and the woman turned her face and I felt like I had seen the face before. It was familiar.

‘I went to my car and as they came out of the shop I just filmed them. I think they walked out through a gate out of the grounds. They just vanished and I didn’t see a car.

‘Kate looked happy and relaxed. They look happy just to be able to go to a shop and mingle.

‘Kate looked relieved, like it was a success going to a shop. It felt natural.’

The prince and princess are both dressed casually, each carrying a white shopping bag in their left hand.

Kate sports black leggings, tucked into socks and trainers, with a zip-up top and is wearing her hair loose.

William is wearing blue jeans, trainers and a jacket with a baseball cap pulled low down over his forehead.

As they chat, the pair – who will celebrate 13 years of marriage in April – couldn’t look happier.

And the fact that the princess seems to be walking with such ease suggests that she is very much on the mend.

On January 17 Kensington Palace announced that Kate had been admitted to The London Clinic in Marylebone, Central London, the previous day for ‘planned abdominal surgery’.

It said the operation had been successful but would result in a two-week stay in hospital before a period of lengthy recuperation at home.

Her spokesman added that, based on the current medical advice, she was unlikely to return to public duties until after Easter.

The couple are said to have visited the farm having watched their their three children – George, 10, Charlotte, eight, and Louis, five – take part in sports. Pictured: Kate with Louis and Charlotte in May 2023

King Charles III (wearing his Welsh Guards uniform) watches a flypast from the balcony of Buckingham Palace during Trooping the Colour on June 17, 2023 in London. He hopes to attend this year, the Mail revealed today

That advice has not changed.

A spokesman stated that it was the Princess’ personal wish to keep her medical information private and said it would only provide an update if there were ‘significant new information to share’.

However their clear statement failed to stop social media and overseas publications, websites and television from speculating wildly about the Princess’ whereabouts and what may have happened to her. The hashtag #whereiskate began trending.

Even the BBC website tackled the issue, highlighting the outlandish speculation under the title: ‘Royal dilemma as public curiosity over Kate’s health grows.’

Some of it has been farcical, including the much-repeated rumour that she is recuperating from a ‘Brazilian bum lift’ or hiding away after a bad haircut.

Other claims, however, have been downright offensive – including that made by a journalist on Spanish television that she has been in a coma that gained huge international traction and had to be openly denied by Kensington Palace.

However trolls and conspiracy theorists have continued used her absence and the lawlessness of social media to spread deeply sinister and highly libellous claims to this day.

A spokesman recently re-iterated their previous advice that they were not going to provide a ‘running commentary’ on the Princess’ health.

‘From our perspective, we were very clear from our statement at the start of this in January that the Princess of Wales planned to be out of public action until after Easter and that hasn’t changed,’ they said.