Kate Middleton may have been filmed in a farm stand with Prince William over the weekend, but the sighting did little to quell conspiracy theories.
Was she hiding because of marriage problems? Were the health problems that caused her to disappear from the public eye much worse than initially believed? Was she transformed by a physical double?
“That’s not Kate…” Bravo host Andy Cohen tweeted on Monday, after the new photograph was published in The Sun.
But the most important mystery of all, at least for People, is why Kensington Palace didn’t eliminate the hypothesis by being extremely reliable.
Kate, 42, has been out of the public eye since January, when it was announced she had undergone major stomach surgery.
At the time, the palace announced that the Princes of Wales would return to royal duties after Easter.
But she was hardly out of sight and out of mind, as skeptics online immediately began to guess the true nature of her situation and whether there was more to it.
“I might have thought that Catherine would have done an adequate job of being left alone for three months, but apparently not… why should she talk about her personal and personal health?” Author and friend of the royal family, Hugo Vickers, told Page Six. “This must be very upsetting for her. Personally, I don’t think she wants to talk about it.”
However, even he admits that human curiosity cannot be suppressed.
“The fact that Catherine was missing for three months, people would certainly say, ‘Well, why, what’s going on?’ – and the void will be full of these horrible conspiracy theories,” Vickers said.
“One would think that the farm store footage would put an end to conspiracy theories, but no, because conspiracy theorists love their theories,” he added. “Look at (death conspiracies surrounding) Marilyn Monroe and Diana, Princess of Wales – but if you produce a lot of evidence these things will certainly continue.”
In fact, sources say it’s the memories of how his mother Diana’s every move was consumed by the press and the general public that causes Prince William to avoid revealing too much about his wife’s situation.
Palace sources told Page Six that it is William, now 41 and next in line to the throne, who has been adamant that Kate’s health is firmly kept under wraps and doesn’t think outsiders need to know anything else. .
A source said: “William is justifiably nervous about the parallels with his mother Diana.”
And the current infected public interest is doing even more to convince him that he is right.
“That’s the reason to keep everything under wraps,” the source said. “It’s haunting him. He thought (the world had) discovered classes we didn’t have.”
And while the royal family has long adhered to the public relations motto “Never complain, never clarify,” branding expert Mark Borkowski believes that’s not working as well today.
“They have not navigated the treacherous waters of social media by sticking to conventional methods,” he said. “The truth is, in the realm of the movie star, privacy is a fantasy.
“Even before the recent crisis, (William) was adamant about keeping royal duties separate from domestic time. However, this “half in, half out” strategy has clearly failed.”
Borkowski added that if the palace had initially been clearer about what exactly Kate’s stomach surgery was, it might have violated her privacy — but it also might have prevented the questions from spinning out of control.
“Perhaps there is sympathy, possibly even understanding, for more secrecy? Ignore this.
And he believes the family isn’t being more forthcoming now because “they don’t want to be accused of favoring conspiracy mongers.”
Vickers discovered that Kate’s shock operation was announced just days before King Charles openly revealed that he is present for prostate cancer treatment.
“In the past no one talked about the nature of any royal illness, but on this occasion (Kate’s situation) was made worse by the fact that the king was quite open about his own illness – telling us about prostate cancer. and the issues we don’t normally talk about,” Vickers said.
It didn’t help that the Welsh unwittingly contributed to the confusion.
Public speculation really arose last month after William missed a memorial for his late godfather, King Constantine, citing “private” reasons for the last-minute cancellation.
And once social media discovered that Kate had closely edited a portrait of herself and her three children on Mother’s Day in the UK, all bets were off.
Borkowski noted that interest in palace intrigues is excessive.
“Don’t underestimate the disruption caused by Harry and Meghan, which has really made the royal family even more interesting,” he said, adding Netflix’s “The Crown.” it also reshaped the family from a perspective of turbulence.
While the monarchy has managed to adapt to stay afloat over the centuries, it now needs a boost to sustain itself with the “ever-changing tides of public perception,” Borkowski said. “They are looking at the wrong finish on the telescope.
As for Kate’s eventual return, Vickers mentioned the farm stand footage: “If she can walk around like that, she could possibly attend the Easter Sunday service. This will be special and very modern and will mark a turning point.”