Lingering Questions About Kate Middleton’s Canceled Comeback 》

One of the ironic things about being part of the Royal Family is that extreme amounts of public attention are almost always a bad thing. Most of us might kill for such attention, but unlike would-be celebrities, the powerful and privileged royals don’t have to work hard to stay famous. As Kate Middleton is now discovering, when the public can’t stop talking a particular royal, it usually means that person is constantly appearing in negative headlines around the world.

Kate recently had abdominal surgery, but she has remained close-lipped about what the surgery was actually for. This, combined with the fact that she had to cancel months of public appearances, has led some to speculate that Kate is actually much sicker than the Royal Family wants to let on. Most recently, it was announced she would be attending this year’s Trooping the Colour event, but now it looks like this will be yet another event she misses.

How did all of this happen with Kate, and what are the newest rumors about her health? Keep reading to discover the answer!

Kate Middleton’s shocking health condition

While it feels like it’s been going on for years, all the recent drama about Kate Middleton kicked into high gear on January 16. That was the day that she received planned abdominal surgery. At first glance, this didn’t seem like a big deal: even royals go to the doctor, and King Charles himself was receiving his recent cancer diagnosis around the same time Kate was receiving surgery.

Notably, however, Charles was very open about why he went to the doctor (an enlarged prostitute) and quite candid about his shocking cancer diagnosis. By comparison, Kate never revealed any details about what procedure she was getting and why she was getting surgery in the first place. This led, of course, to much speculation about her diagnosis.

Why Kate’s secret diagnosis has us worried

Aside from Kate’s general secrecy about her reason for getting surgery, her recovery time caused additional speculation. After the surgery, the royals issued an official statement that Kate Middleton was going to have to cancel all of her public appearances until Easter. For context, Easter takes place on March 31 this year.

That means that Kate Middleton received surgery for some kind of mystery medical condition that was going to require two and a half months for her to heal. While no two surgeries are exactly alike, most people can fully recover from such surgery in about six weeks, and that’s to fully heal.

The fact that Kate needs an extra month just to make so much as a quick public appearance has caused many to speculate that her health is worse than any of us might have guessed.

A surprise announcement (and even more surprising cancellation)

Previously, Kate Middleton had canceled all of her public appearances until Easter. That’s why we were very surprised when, just a few days ago, the U.K. Ministry of Defence announced that Kate would be present at the upcoming Trooping the Colour parade. That event is outside of her original recovery window (it takes place on June 15 this year), but it was surprising to see an announcement of any kind after radio silence from William and Kate.

Just as mysteriously as Kate’s presence at this event was announced, the announcement was suddenly removed from the British military website. There is an official reason given for this that relates to royal protocol (more on this in a minute). However, it’s looking more and more like the cancellation may be due to some shocking paparazzi photos.

Paparazzi photos spark even more questions about Kate’s health

Recently, TMZ published photos of Kate Middleton being driven by her mother Carol. The photos themselves aren’t remarkable…Kate is sporting sunglasses, a faint smile, and that’s about it. But considering that nobody had seen Kate in public since December, these photos were notable because they confirmed Kate was alive and seemingly well.

Or do they? The photos are so grainy and reveal so little that many think they were effectively staged by the Palace so people would stop speculating about whether Kate was dead or otherwise in very ill health. If true, the photos had the reverse effect: we’re now wondering just how sick Kate could really be if she and the other royals would go to such lengths to “prove” she’s healthy.

Is royal protocol really behind this cancellation?

There is, of course, an official explanation for why Kate Middleton’s attendance at the Trooping the Colorous parade was suddenly dropped from the British military website. The announcement was apparently made without the explicit approval of Kensington Palace, and the Palace even commented on the matter. As People reports, the Palace 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.”

However, the reassurance wasn’t really reassuring. Royal protocol may be important, but Kate serving as the Colonel of the Irish Guard means she would almost certainly attend the Trooping the Colour parade. The fact that the Palace instantly shut down the very idea that Kate might attend an event two and a half months after when she is supposed to be fully recovered may be more evidence (if you even need more) that Kate is much sicker than anyone is officially willing to admit.