London: Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales and wife of Britain's heir to the throne Prince William, has been hitting headlines with social media disseminating "unverified" reports about illness. Some reports cited she has not even been seen in public ever since Middleton was admitted to a hospital for her abdominal surgery-- prompting social media platforms to use "mysterious" and "vanished" words to feed their endless theories regarding Middleton's whereabouts. Nevertheless, the question remained unanswered.
According to a report by the New York Times, she had attended a service at St. Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham, Norfolk, England, wearing head-to-toe royal blue. She walked to church with her husband, Prince William, and their three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, much like she had in years past. However, after her stunning entry into the event, the princess has not been seen in public.
"Planned hospitalisation"
Later, nearly a month after her appearance, Kensington Palace 'surprisingly' announced that Catherine, 42, formerly known as Kate Middleton, had been admitted to the London Clinic. It called the hospitalisation "planned" and refuted the claims she had been admitted in an emergency situation.
This was the same day when the Royal Family announced that King Charles III, 75, would receive treatment for an enlarged prostate the next week. Although the King partially resumed his duties and was photographed with UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, the whereabouts of the Princess of Wales is yet to be known.
Prince William turned out from a curial event at the last moment
However, the rumours spread further on social media platforms following Prince William also scaled back his royal duties during his wife’s recuperation. In fact, this week, he turned out of a planned appearance at a memorial service at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor for his godfather, King Constantine of the Hellenes, who died in January 2023, NYT reported. Apprehending the rumours, Kensington Palace issued a statement wherein it appreciated the interest among people regarding her health but added they should also understand that the medical information of one must be kept private.
What does the Royal Family say about the Princess's whereabouts?
“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.” Later, it issued another statement at the end of the month, telling the public that Catherine had been discharged from the London Clinic. However, she was not captured leaving the treatment site.
Later, a journalist, named Concha Calleja, citing her sources in the Royal Family, reported that Catherine faced serious complications after surgery, requiring “drastic” actions to save her life.
“The decision was to put her in an induced coma. They had to intubate her, " Calleja told the Spanish news show Fiesta. Refuting the claims, Kensington Palace said it would provide updates on the princess only when there was “significant new information to share" and dubbed her report “total nonsense” and “ludicrous.”
