Kate Middleton It is Prince William are feeling shock, anger, disbelief and frustration amidst wild and exaggerated speculation It is vast conspiracy theories regarding his whereabouts and progress in recovery from abdominal surgery.
ET spoke with royal expert Katie Nicholl about how the Prince and Princess of Wales are feeling about the rumors swirling around them. Nicholl told ET that the royal couple is savvy enough to understand how social media works these days, but the constant attention is, in other words, getting to them.
“Well, I know from the sources I spoke to that William and Kate were quite shocked and genuinely surprised by the wild rumors that are circulating on the internet,” Nicholl told ET. “I think there is a sense of frustration, possibly even anger, certainly on William’s part.”
For his part, William has not only had to care for his wife, who is still recovering from abdominal surgery, but also the couple’s three young children — Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, 5. In addition, William has had to care for his wife, who is still recovering from abdominal surgery. , William is also trying to ignore the deafening noise, including unsubstantiated allegations running rampant online and elsewhere.
“I think the suggestions that (Kate) had, well, anything as crazy as a bad haircut that she needed to grow it to cosmetic surgery gone wrong or people speculating that she’s possibly in a coma, I think that made the Prince of Wales is also frustrated, upset and quite angry,” says Nicholl. “It’s been difficult for them. I think they’re trying to ignore it as much as they can. But, of course, this is a couple who have had to embrace social media. They have a handle on Instagram, they have hundreds of thousands of followers. They they certainly don’t have their head in the sand. They’re aware of what’s being written and what’s being said. And I think there’s a sense of frustration that they can’t put a stop to it.”
The sad reality, adds Nicholl, is that the couple are probably well aware that the noise isn’t going to go away. Not until the audience can see with their own eyes that Kate is “back to her normal, happy, healthy self.”
What does the video images obtained by TMZ of Kate and William a mile from their home in Windsor even more frustrating.
“O TMZ the video really should have quashed all the feverish speculation about the Princess of Wales,” explains Nicholl. “His health, his recovery, and it just didn’t happen. You would think that the video, which showed her walking at a fairly brisk pace, carrying a shopping bag, looking quite healthy and happy, and chatting in a very relaxed manner with her husband, would have just dampened all the abundant speculation. This has actually been floating around the internet for weeks. But, incredibly, many of these theories still circulate on the internet.”
Wild speculation includes that there was a body double – a rumor and conspiracy theory that led to a Kate lookalike speaking out about it.
“People think I’m Kate Middleton in the video that was released online.” said Heidi Egan, a British woman known for her resemblance to Kate. “Given my alibi, no, it wasn’t me in the video. I was actually at work.”
And as if the royal couple didn’t already have enough to deal with, police are now investigating a possible breach of Kate’s health records, a UK health minister announcedafter the UK tabloid The mirror reported that the London Clinic – where Kate was treated in January for “planned abdominal surgery” – has launched an investigation into allegations that staff tried to access her private medical records. O Information Commissioner’s OfficeBritain’s data watchdog released a statement confirming it is investigating the possible breach.
The potential breach of your medical records will be dealt with quickly, not only because it could target the Princess of Wales, but because privacy laws are extremely strict in the UK. to Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles or New York-Presbyterian Hospital, two world-class facilities favored by the rich and famous.
“The London Clinic will do everything in its power to ensure the safety of its patients, many of whom are high profile,” says Nicholl, referring to former UK Prime Minister David Cameron, who was born in that hospital. Former US President John F. Kennedy Jr. was also treated there, as were many royals, celebrities and VIPs who further insist on discretion.
“The big challenge here is for the London Clinic and to maintain its standards and its reputation as one of the most discreet clinics in London, when clearly there was a major attempted security breach during Katherine’s stay,” says Nicholl.
The possible breach is reminiscent of a 2012 incident, when Australian pranksters managed to be referred to Kate’s doctors while she was receiving treatment for severe nausea and vomiting at London’s King Edward VII Hospital while pregnant with Prince George.
Although the prank only resulted in the pranksters being transferred to Kate’s doctors, this ordeal ended in tragedy when the nurse who transferred the call took his own life in 2014.
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