As Princess Catherine‘s conspiracy theories continue to grow out of hand, the royal family is STILL refusing to speak out! And this isn’t expected to change anytime soon, even though Prince William has reportedly been triggered by the media frenzy!
Hugo Vickers, a writer and friend of the royal family, told Page Six on Tuesday that Kate Middleton shouldn’t be forced to speak out about her health condition despite fans’ worries, insisting:
“I would have thought that Catherine would have done a good enough job to be left in peace for three months, but evidently not … why should she have to talk about her personal and private health? […] This must be very upsetting for her. Personally, I don’t think she needs to talk about it.”
She doesn’t NEED to talk about her health — that should be private if she wants! Of course it should! But folks weren’t upset not to get the details — they were worried because they got a weird, clearly fake proof of life pic! If the fam hadn’t put out anything misleading, we highly doubt anyone would have been so suspicious. The simple thing would have been for Kate to record a quick video thanking everyone for their concern and saying she’s on the mend from surgery. Done. Unfortunately, The Firm have let this drama drag on so long, even explicit health info might not silence the conspiracy theorists at this point!
Related: Local Who Filmed Princess Catherine Video Speaks Out
Hugo acknowledged the circumstances were ripe for controversy, musing:
“The fact that Catherine disappeared for three months, people were bound to say, ‘Well, why, what’s going on?’ — and the void can be filled with these ghastly conspiracy theories.”
But he missed the fact that there wasn’t widespread controversy about where she was until the fam seemed to start lying about it! At this point though? Unfortunately, he’s not sure there will EVER be an end to the rumors:
“One would think the farm shop footage would stop the conspiracy theories, but no, because conspiracy theorists love their theories. […] Look at [death conspiracies around] Marilyn Monroe and [Princess] Diana, Princess of Wales — however much evidence you produce, these things are bound to go on.”
Jeez. That’s not good for Will and Kate! They’re not going to want this drama hanging over them for eternity!
But another insider argued Diana’s past with the media is actually what’s been encouraging the heir to keep his wife’s details on lockdown. Palace sources told the outlet Will has been the one who wants to keep Kate’s health condition a secret and doesn’t believe the public needs to know more than they already shared. An insider explained:
“William is justifiably worried about the parallels to his mother, Diana. […] This is the reason for keeping everything under wraps. […] This is haunting him. He thought [the world had] learned lessons we hadn’t.”
Oof.
While the comparisons are unnerving, it’s worth pointing out much of this drama was created after Kate admitted to editing a photoshopped family portrait, sparking major concerns and more theories. The Firm likely could’ve avoided this whole PR crisis had they had her release a statement shortly after announcing the surgery — which was well before rumors truly took off. But, instead, the photoshopped image turned this into a nightmare! After all, why would they need to put out false info if everything was fine and normal?
Agreeing, branding expert Mark Borkowski argued that the royal family’s motto “never complain, never explain” has totally backfired, expressing:
“They’ve failed to navigate the treacherous waters of social media, sticking to traditional tactics. The blunt truth is, in the realm of celebrity, privacy is a myth. […] Even before the recent crisis, [William] has been adamant about keeping royal duties separate from family time. But this ‘half in, half out’ approach has clearly faltered.”
Mark then suggested if the palace had been more direct about Kate’s medical issues, maybe it would have stopped this controversy from starting (although he acknowledged it may have violated her privacy). He explained:
“There might be sympathy, maybe even understanding, but secrecy? Forget about it.”
Vickers pointed out that the timing of this combined with King Charles III‘s cancer diagnosis has made Kate’s secrecy more noticeable, adding:
“In the olden days nobody ever talked about the nature of any royal illness, but in this instance [Kate’s situation has] been exacerbated by the fact the king is rather open about his own illness — telling us about cancer and the things we don’t normally talk about.”
It’s certainly an inneresting point. The juxtaposition wasn’t great. But we’re not sure we agree she needed to give any medical details at all. Look at Jamie Foxx. We still have no idea what he was in the hospital for, but once he started talking to fans about recovering and coming back, no one was worried.
But at this point Mark thinks the family isn’t more forthcoming because “they don’t want to be accused of pandering to the conspiracy mongers.” But their silence is only making things worse! The expert then went on to blame Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, and Netflix‘s The Crown for helping to create mass intrigue about the institution, adding:
“Don’t underestimate the disruptions caused by Harry and Meghan, which have actually made the royal family more captivating.”
Did all that added interest contribute to how many people are talking about this? Sure. But the internet treats every mystery this way now. It’s just how things have evolved the past few years. It’s that true crime mentality. And moving forward, the monarchy is going to need to adapt to keep up with the “ever-changing tides of public perception,” Borkowski concluded:
“They are looking through the wrong end of the telescope.”
A great opportunity to finally shut this all down would be to have the Princess of Wales make her public return at the end of the month, Hugo finished:
“If she can walk like that [in the farm shop video], maybe she can come to the Easter Sunday Service. That would be special and very popular and could mark a turning point.”
It’s hard to deny she isn’t physically capable of doing that anymore! And it would be the quickest way to both stick to the timeline of her return that Kensington Palace already shared while also (hopefully) quieting all the noise ASAP! Hard to tell if she’ll make an appearance at this point, though.
Thoughts? Do you think there’s some other reason the palace isn’t speaking up? Let us know (below)!
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