Inside luxurious London Clinic where Kate Middleton had op where JFK was treated – and it even has its own concierge
PRINCESS Kate has been admitted to one of the country's most exclusive hospitals in a royal surgery shock.
The royal mum-of-three was taken to The London Clinic yesterday for planned abdominal surgery - with Prince William by Kate's side.
The private hospital has been a go-to hospital for the Royal Family and political and Hollywood elite.
The exclusive clinic on Devonshire Place in Marylebone opened in 1932 and had previously admitted Prince Phillip and Princess Margaret.
The hospital says it specialises in cancer, women’s health, urology, and orthopaedics.
It also claims to be a specialist in robotic surgery allowing surgeons to perform more complex and safer procedures.
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It is understood the surgery was not for cancer, but Kensington Palace will not speculate on the private medical matter.
The London Clinic describes itself as having experts supported by world-class medical resources.
Patients get their own concierge service whilst the hospital's chef serves fish from Cornish boats and meat from Smithfields Market.
Rooms have an electronic patient-controlled bed, en-suite bathroom, a safety deposit box, and a TV.
The facility said it could treat 155 conditions, with hundreds of treatments, tests and scans available.
It also operates as a charity, reinvesting in research, education and innovation.
According to the health watchdog, the hospital has about 23,000 inpatients a year, with a further 110,000 outpatients.
The building at 20 Devonshire Place has seven main operating theatres and three additional theatres, as well as six specialty wards for surgeries in urology, gynaecology, thoracic surgery, orthopaedics and spinal procedures.
The Princess of Wales is expected to spend between 10 and 14 days in the hospital and two to three months recovering.
She is not expected to return to public duties until after Easter, at the end of March.
Some of its notable visitors have included Tinsletown starlets and Prime Ministers.
Lord Cameron, the former Prime Minister and current Foreign Secretary, was born there in 1966.
Anthony Eden, another Foreign Secretary and Prime Minister, attended the clinic for a cholecystectomy in 1953.
And Congressman and future President JFK was diagnosed with Addison's disease there in 1947.
Augusto Pinochet was arrested at the London Clinic in October 1998 for crimes against humanity.
Queen Camilla is the hospital's patron and her mother-in-law, Queen Elizabeth II opened a £80m cancer centre there in 2010.
The hospital was formed by a group of doctors and officially opened by the Queen Mother - then the Duchess of York - in 1932.
Kate's children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis are all thought to have attended school to make everything 'as normal as possible'.
Sources have only said Kate is "doing well" and that husband William is taking over the school run.
A statement from the Palace read: “The Princess of Wales appreciates the interest this statement will generate.
"She hopes that the public will understand her desire to maintain as much normality for her children as possible; and her wish that her personal medical information remains private.
“Kensington Palace will, therefore, only provide updates on Her Royal Highness’ progress when there is significant new information to share.
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"The Princess of Wales wishes to apologise to all those concerned for the fact that she has to postpone her upcoming engagements.
"She looks forward to reinstating as many as possible, as soon as possible.”
