Abigail Zinzi
It has been months since we last saw Princess of Wales Kate Middleton on Christmas Day 2023. As someone who is constantly in the public eye due to her husband’s impending ascension to the throne, her absence is incredibly noticed.
Her absence has sparked major controversy including a Wikipedia page documenting all the possible theories.
Middleton underwent abdominal surgery on Jan. 16 and returned from the hospital on Jan. 29. In a statement released from Kensington Palace, the princess has been in recovery ever since. On Feb. 27, Prince William pulled out of going to the funeral service for his Godfather, Constantine II of Greece last minute, sparking rumors and talk. His reasoning for the cancelation was due to a “personal matter” and speculations immediately drew to the matter pertaining to his wife. During this time, King Charles, her father-in-law, has also undergone treatment during this time in relation to his cancer, yet has been visible with his engagements in Buckingham Palace. With his presence contrasting her absence, it has shown a great difference and speculation about where she is.
On March 10, Mother’s Day was celebrated in the United Kingdom. Kensington Palace released an image of Middleton with her children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis to celebrate. Later that day the Associated Press, one of the most respected news sources in the world, issued a “kill strike” on the photo. A kill strike is a term used when an official statement that has been issued by an intelligence agency to other agencies is deemed “unreliable” for one or several reasons and must be officially disavowed. This created a huge surge in even more speculation and conspiracies that began to go from simple to outlandish.
A poll was even conducted with Mount students about whether they believed that Middleton was truly recovering from surgery. Only 22% of students polled believed that to be true while 78% believed the palace is hiding something.
On March 22, nearly a full three months since the mystery began, the world got their answer in the form of a video statement from Middleton herself. In the video, the princess explains that her abdominal surgery resulted in the discovery of cancer. She goes on to divulge that the cancer is treatable, but once she recovered from the grueling surgery, only then was she able to begin her chemotherapy treatments.
The details are small, but we now know the truth, and we all wish the princess peace and comfort as she begins her cancer recovery journey.
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