Catherine, Princess of Wales, quelled the mystery surrounding her nearly three-month long absence from the public eye by revealing her cancer diagnosis. Popularly known as Kate Middleton, the British princess – in a pre-recorded video message released by Kensington Palace on March 22 – announced that she has been undergoing preventive chemotherapy after tests following her abdominal surgery detected cancer. While Kate did not reveal the type of cancer she was diagnosed with, her statement appeared to have calm down a storm of conspiracy theories surrounding her absence in the public.
Last spotted on Christmas 2023, Kate did not take up any public duties after the palace announced her abdominal surgery. Social media had been abuzz with theories, with several users expressing concern over health. Here is the breakdown of Kate's public appearance on Christmas 2023 to her cancer diagnosis reveal.
Christmas Day, 2023
The Princess of Wales is seen in public for the last time, attending the traditional Christmas Day morning service at St Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham with her family.
January 17, 2024
Kensington Palace announces that Kate has been admitted to the London Clinic for planned abdominal surgery. The surgery took place on January 16, and she was expected to stay in the hospital for up to two weeks.
January 29, 2024
Two weeks after she was admitted, Kate was discharged from the hospital to continue her recovery at home.
February 27, 2024
Kate's husband Prince William pulled out of a memorial service citing "personal matter." This triggered further speculation about Kate's health. The Princess's health was said to be doing well at this time.
March 4, 2024
Entertainment website TMZ shared a grainy photo of Kate in a car driven by her mother Carole Middleton. Kate donned a pair of dark sunglasses and some social media users believed her face appeared to be swollen. This marked the princess' first public sighting since December.
March 10, 2024
The palace released a photo of Kate and her three children – 10-year-old Prince George, eight-year-old Princess Charlotte and five-year-old Prince Louis – on Mother's Day in the UK.
Instead of squashing the rumours, the photo further fuelled speculations surrounding Kate, with several social media users pointing out it was digitally altered. Some royal watchers on social media were of the opinion that the palace was trying to cover something up. Several news agencies including the Agence France-Presse (AFP) and the Associated Press (AP) pulled out the photo, which essentially marked the beginning of 'Kate Gate' on social media.
March 11, 2024
After the Mother's Day photo set of public storm, Kate issued an apology for the edited photo.
"Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing. I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused. I hope everyone celebrating had a very happy Mother’s Day," Kate said in the statement posted on X. The message was signed 'C', triggering speculations about possible rift between Kate and Prince William.
The same day, the Daily Mail published a photo allegedly showing the Prince William and Kate. Social media users disputed Kate's identity in the photo due its quality.
March 16, 2024
British tabloid The Sun reported that Kate and William were spotted visiting Windsor Farm Shop. Subsequently, TMZ released a video capturing William and Kate's excursion, where she sported black leggings paired with a sporty men's pullover. However, the video triggered conspiracy theories questioning the authenticity of the woman actually being Kate.
March 18, 2024
Amid the Mother's Day photo row, Getty Images confirmed that another royal photo released in April 2023 was digitally altered.
March 21, 2024
According to British daily The Telegraph, Kate has been working from home during her recovery, contributing to the planning of a new campaign.
March 22, 2024
Kensington Palace released a pre-recorded video where Kate reveals her cancer diagnosis, which was discovered after her abdominal surgery in January.
"In January, I underwent major abdominal surgery in London and at the time, it was thought that my condition was non-cancerous. The surgery was successful. However, tests after the operation found cancer had been present. My medical team therefore advised that I should undergo a course of preventative chemotherapy and I am now in the early stages of that treatment," Kate said in the message, adding that the diagnosis came as a "huge shock".
While her cancer reveal has suppressed the conspiracy theories, Kate's overall well-being has remained a concern among royal watchers and social media followers. Questions surrounding why Kate appeared alone in her video message and Kensington Palace's delay in revealing her diagnosis still remain unanswered.
