To celebrate Mother’s Day and ease growing concerns about the Princess of Wales’ health, Kensington Palace released a photograph of Kate Middleton and her three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
However, the picture has since been ‘killed’ and recalled by major press agencies including AFP, AP, Reuters and Getty after accusations that the image had been ‘manipulated’ by the source. There appears to be some discrepancies with Princess Charlotte’s sleeve, Kate Middleton’s blurry hand and the tiles on the floor behind them.
Unfortunately, this has only given rise to speculation about the Princess of Wales’ current situation. Kensington Palace is yet to respond to queries about the image.
The photo, taken by Prince William last week, is the first official image of Kate Middleton since Christmas Day and is the first time she’s officially been pictured since her planned abdominal surgery in January.
After growing speculation pertaining to her whereabouts in February, Kensington Palace released a second statement about Kate Middleton’s wellbeing. It said, ‘We were very clear from the outset that the Princess of Wales was out until after Easter and Kensington Palace would only be providing updates when something was significant.’
Despite the explanation from the royal family, #WhereIsKate has been trending on social media for weeks with wild conspiracy theories spreading about her absence and when she might next undertake royal dutie
In March, rumours that Kate Middleton would be attending the Trooping the Colour on 8 June were dispelled by the Ministry of Defence. Tickets for the event went on sale with claims that the Princess of Wales would be in attendance, which would be her first confirmed return to royal duty since her hospitalisation. There has therefore been a rise in search for whether Kate Middleton is attending the Trooping the Colour this year.
She was listed on the event due to her role as Colonel of the Irish Guards, the regiment which is trooping its colour this year. However, it turns out the Army did not seek approval from Kensington Palace and have since removed the claim.
It is also unclear whether King Charles will be in attendance given that he has temporarily stepped back from royal duties following his cancer diagnosis.
Kate Middleton has not been seen in public since Christmas Day, and is expected to be on leave until Easter. She is said to be making ‘good progress’, but requested privacy around her medical information. ‘The Princess of Wales appreciates the interest this statement will generate,’ Kensington Palace’s first statement read. ‘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.’
Concerns about the princess first escalated when Prince William dropped out of attending King Constantine of Greece’s memorial service in Windsor last week, which he was scheduled to give a reading at, due to a ‘personal matter’. Since then, people have shared so many theories online that the Palace chose to break its silence and respond to shut down the conversation. However, the recent image shared on the Palace’s social media accounts seems to have had the opposite effect.
It’s an unprecedented move from Kensington Palace, and shows the growing intensity of such conspiracy theories. Now, discourse has even begun on how such theories spread and the damage they can do when handled insensitively.
