Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know about the Kate Middleton drama rocking the UK. She was admitted for abdominal surgery back in January, but she refused to disclose what kind of surgery it was or what she was being treated for. That was mysterious enough, but then the Palace dropped the bombshell news that Kate would be skipping all public appearances until Easter this year.
The rumor mill went into overload because of the fact that it just doesn’t take that long to recover from simple abdominal surgery. The implications are clear: Kate either had a very serious procedure, is dealing with a major health issue, or (most likely) both.
Recently, Prince William made a statement about the whole matter. What did William say, and how has he accidentally made all the speculation worse rather than better? Keep reading to find out!
Kate’s recovery time announcement shocks the world
By itself, Kate’s surgery shouldn’t have been such a big deal. Royals are humans like the rest of us, and when they face various health issues, they have to visit specialists to get this taken care of. This fact was underscored by the fact that Charles was in the hospital at the same time getting treatment for an enlarged prostate.
However, Kate really freaked the world out with the announcement that all of her public appearances would be canceled until Easter. That made it sound like she needed two and a half months of recovery time, something that should have been unnecessary for a simple abdominal surgery. Throw in the fact Kate refused to share the diagnosis that sent her to the hospital or the exact nature of her surgery and people couldn’t help but wonder just how bad her health really was.
RELATED: The Wildest Rumors About Kate Middleton’s Health Issues
Prince William steps up as Kate steps down
Prince William and Kate Middleton have always made for a great team. Normally, William is very tight-lipped about his family, and that’s to be expected. As we have noted before, William is the future King of England, so we aren’t surprised that he’s the master of the whole “stiff upper lip” thing.
Still, William seems content to let his actions speak for him. Even as Kate has canceled her own public appearances, William has been making more and more of his own. As royal biographer and guru Sally Bedell Smith told People, “Queen Elizabeth used to say, ‘I need to be seen to be believed,’” and it seems William understands the importance of getting in front of cameras and offering a stabilizing image to the UK and to the world.
William’s own schedule cancellation raises concerns
As noted above, Prince William has mostly been doing a bang-up job when it comes to stepping up his public appearances. However, there was a very notable exception that recently occurred. William was scheduled to attend a memorial for King Constantine of Greece and he canceled his appearance at the last minute.
That may sound like just another event the future King could take or leave, but it’s important to know that Constantine wasn’t just the King of Greece…he was also William’s godfather. Both the man’s life and death meant quite a bit to William, and the fact that the prince canceled his plans has fueled more speculation about Kate. Specifically, some are saying that her health may have deteriorated to such a point that William needed to rush home and personally take care of her rather than leaving that up to someone who may gossip.
RELATED: Prince William Shocked By Kate Middleton’s Recent Hospital Stay
A surprising Prince William statement prompts more speculation
Believe it or not, the latest action Prince William took that made everyone worried about Kate Middleton was taking to X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. Using the official @KensingtonRoyal account, William wrote about the humanitarian need to supply more aid to Gaza in the face of Israeli aggression.
What surprised everyone wasn’t what William said but instead how he said it. The statement repeatedly uses first-person language such as “I remain concerned” and “I…want to see an end to the fighting.” William shares this account with Kate and they frequently make statements together. The fact that William went out of his way to omit Kate from the statement has led to speculation that she might be very, very ill or even that her marriage to the prince has become very rocky.
Official Palace policy makes things worse
As we noted before, Prince William embodies the “stiff upper lip” ethos of the British people. It’s also more or less the official Palace policy. That’s why an annoyed Kensington Palace has had to remind the public that there will be no regular updates on Kate Middleton’s health unless they are “significant.” That makes perfect sense for a famous family that has been burned countless times by the media.
At the same time, however, we can’t help but feel the Palace has inadvertently made things worse for Kate. Because we can’t expect official updates anytime soon, everyone has been forced to speculate based on the limited data we have. The Palace may be trying to protect Kate’s reputation by keeping details out of tabloid headlines, but the final result is more people expressing more fear over Kate’s health by the day!