King Charles and Princess Kate return home after surgery

King Charles III and Catherine, Princess of Wales, are now resting in their homes after both left hospital following separate surgeries, AFP reports.

Charles, 75, left the private London clinic three days after undergoing prostate surgery.

King Charles waved to the crowd as he and 76-year-old Queen Camilla walked out of the central London facility and into a waiting car. He has rescheduled several upcoming engagements to ensure a period of recuperation "in private," Buckingham Palace said in a statement.

According to the palace, the 75-year-old king has made the operation public to encourage screenings for this common condition in older men.

His departure came hours after Kensington Palace announced that his sister-in-law Catherine - whose husband is Crown Prince William - had also left the clinic after undergoing abdominal surgery earlier this month.

"The Prince and Princess would like to extend their warmest thanks to all the team at the London Clinic, and in particular the dedicated medical staff, for their care," the palace added.

The family "remains grateful for the good wishes they have received from around the world," they added.

It is unclear exactly when the 42-year-old princess was discharged, but her office said she was making "good progress" at home in the early stages of a recovery that could last months.

Their absence has created a shortage of frontline staff in the already diminished monarchy, with William also postponing public engagements to be by his wife's side and Camilla remaining the most visible working royal. /BGNES