The rumor mill about Kate has been boiling over for weeks: Where is Princess Catherine, is she okay – and how could she be so clumsy as to publish a manipulated photo? Why doesn’t anyone ask themselves: Would we also stalk our favorite colleague if she called in sick?
Princess Catherine has been spotted! Hallelujah! She is said to have visited a farm shop in the town of Windsor with her husband William to do their weekly shopping. The store owner complied with the request not to take any photos with perfect British politeness, but he was willing to reveal this much to the press: Kate looked “happy and healthy.”
A video of the short strip making waves is now circulating online. It shows: a completely normal, satisfied couple who buys directly from the farmer so that the kids get something healthy on their plates. It sounds like a pipe dream from Prenzlauer Berg parents, but it’s a production trick that the Wales couple has often used to demonstrate normality and staying down to earth. The message to the people: Everything is fine, Kate is happy and will soon shine in the paparazzi cameras again at hospital openings, film premieres and other royal appointments.
Speculation about Kate was spectacular
So this is the story that is supposed to reassure the public – after weeks of wild speculation about what would happen to the Princess of Wales. As a reminder: At the end of January, Kate reported from duty because she had to undergo planned abdominal surgery. The sick note didn’t stop royal fans and conspiracy theorists on the internet from making the craziest claims about her whereabouts. The longer she wasn’t seen in public, the more uninhibited things became: Is Kate’s illness more serious than expected? Was it really abdominal surgery and not perhaps cosmetic surgery, which requires a long healing time and prevents performances? Or is there a completely different reason for the absence – did Kate and William secretly split up? Is Kate no longer interested in the royals? Will Kate no longer be among the living at the end?!
The, um, Worries Kate’s state of health reached such dire proportions that the Royal Family apparently felt compelled to publish an “I’m fine” photo as proof. Kate beamed into the camera while sitting on an armchair, with her three children George, Charlotte and Louis gathered around her. The catch: The photo was edited so amateurishly, allegedly by Kate herself, that news agencies raised the alarm about suspected manipulation. The image that caused the so-called #kategate can now only be accessed on Instagram with the note “falsified photo” (and Instagram is not exactly known as a platform that immediately initiates consequences when fake news is spread).
Of course, the photo fueled #MiddletonMarchMadness, another hashtag nickname for the royal PR meltdown. Admittedly, the creativity with which Kate’s time out has been turned into funny memes on the internet is impressive (“No new Banksy since Kate’s operation – coincidence?!”). After all: Not only Kate has appeared in the general store, but also a new Banksy. But despite all the hilarity about funny tinfoil hat theories, the question must slowly be asked: What does all of this actually concern us, i.e. the public?
A question of (in)nocence
The question scratches the old fundamental debate about what exactly the royals owe “the people” (and that doesn’t just mean the population of Great Britain and the Commonwealth – in the current debate about Kate, pretty much everyone from Weimar to Washington thinks they have a right to it to find out what’s going on with the princess). So, what can and should the royals do in the public interest? Every now and then a bit of a transcendental show for the Brits’ “we’re special” self-image – that’s fine. Commitment to the common good – certainly. Well-dosed insights into family life – gladly. But are the royals obliged to provide more detailed information about health conditions and private decisions than: Kate is sick and needs to retire and recover for a while?
The fact that the public is not satisfied with this seems almost bizarre at a time when there is a lot of philosophizing about mental and physical health in the job context. This concept apparently does not apply to the royals, and to Kate in particular. It should simply always function in its usual, radiant efficiency. Of course, as an active voice of modernity, she holds the British monarchy together and is the most popular member of the royal family. Without Kate, nothing works for the British royals. This is also because everyone can somehow agree on Kate, from royal ultras to opponents of the monarchy. After all, she was once a commoner, “one of us.” If you take the idea further, the only conclusion that would seem obvious is that you don’t constantly pester or team up with your favorite colleague in rehab: “Where are you, what are you doing, when are you coming back to the office???”
In other words: There is no claim to “the truth”, not even when it comes to princesses. Just an excessive desire for royal insights that ultimately no one is entitled to. That Kate Middleton felt compelled to post a poorly edited picture in an embarrassing attempt to appease the masses is reminiscent of other, much more dramatic occasions where there was too much honesty, too much “what was it really like?” was demanded by the Royals. Lady Diana paid dearly for the public’s claim to every detail of her life.
So let’s leave poor Kate Middleton alone for now. It certainly won’t be long before she’s walking through cheering crowds again with her perfect blow-dried hairstyle, coat dress and stilettos – and you can be amazed all over again about who the hell still cares about these antiquated monarchs.