Mystery of Kate’s secret childhood scar

Shimmering in silver, the Duchess of Cambridge conducted her first solo engagement as a royal last week - 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 that it was the result of surgery as a young child. “The scar related to a childhood operation,” they said.

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

Senior royal sources did confirm 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, but suggested it might have been the result of a birthmark being removed.

“It is remarkable, given the measurement, that no one has noticed before,” 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.

However, he 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. She was said to have been “delighted” to be asked and spent the previous day swotting 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.

Kate, 29, looked stunning 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 nightÕs event the duchess chatted knowledgeably about the charityÕs 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 his “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.

“She was so pleased that her first solo engagement was for the Prince of Wales, who has shown her so much support over the years.” - Daily Mail

• If Kate has a girl she CAN be Queen