Prince William and Princess Kate
Chaos around the model couple
William and Kate have so far been seen as bearers of hope and sympathy for the British monarchy. But now her image is beginning to shake.
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One disaster follows the next: almost every day there is new confusion surrounding Kate’s absence. Is she losing her sympathy?
William’s strange refusal at the memorial service for his godfather
Initially, the British media held back and complied with Kensington Palace’s request to give the princess a sufficient period of recovery. But at the end of February, after a few weeks of grace, the calm was over: after Prince William canceled the memorial service in honor of his godfather, the former Greek King Constantine II (1940-2023) at Windsor Castle, at unusually short notice, and Kensington Palace was declared The only reason given was “personal matters,” which sparked the rumor mill. Although a royal source said that Kate was still doing well, many media outlets and social network users began to speculate about what exactly was going on with the Crown Princess. The wildest conspiracy theories were circulating online, ranging from cosmetic surgery to Kate’s death.
Confusion about Trooping the Color
At the beginning of March there was the next glitch: The British Ministry of Defense announced the first appointment for Kate after her break on its homepage. She will take part in the Trooping the Color military parade in June, it said on the homepage. But that was apparently announced too early. As The Telegraph reported, among others, this was announced “without the permission of Kensington Palace.” The appointment was then removed from the website.
Photo faux pas on Mother’s Day
In the midst of all this excitement and speculation, Kensington Palace probably wanted to calm things down with a snapshot for British Mother’s Day (March 10). The photo of Kate and her three children was the first to be published on the heir to the throne couple’s Instagram page since the princess’s abdominal surgery. But the plan backfired. A few hours later, several photo agencies withdrew it on suspicion of manipulation. Kensington Palace was forced to issue a statement, quoting Kate as saying: “Like many amateur photographers, I occasionally experiment with editing.” Since many already doubted the credibility of the palace, new questions quickly arose: Does the princess really edit her pictures herself? And would she make a statement on social media from her hospital bed? And how current was the Mother’s Day picture anyway?
The PR disaster was finally perfect, and the otherwise popular model couple Kate and William seem to have lost a lot of sympathy. First especially in the US media, and then also in the British media, criticism of the royals’ communication policy became increasingly louder. Why isn’t it said what exactly is going on with Kate, when exactly she can attend appointments again and what was behind William’s cancellation at the memorial service? The crown prince couple risks losing their credibility. The secrecy surrounding Kate’s absence is becoming a laughing stock around the world. Dutch King Willem-Alexander (56) joked to schoolchildren that he “didn’t photoshop” a family photo. And reality star Kim Kardashian (43) went himself in an Instagram posting set off to “find Kate”.
After the Mother’s Day faux pas, the US broadcaster CNN announced that it would review all photos of Kensington Palace that had been distributed in the past. On March 19, the international photo agency Getty Images reported that a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II (1926-2022) among ten of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren from 2022 had been manipulated. Princess Kate published the photo on April 21, 2023, the late monarch’s first birthday after her death. It is said to have been created at Balmoral Castle in Scotland in August 2022. But now the question has even been raised in various reports as to whether the Queen was actually sitting with the children at the time, or whether she was perhaps added later.
Doppelganger discussion about video
No matter what is currently known about Kate and William – it seems to immediately come under scrutiny. This distrust may be unusual for the previously so popular couple. Even when a video clip of the parents of three shopping emerged on March 19th and Kate looked fit and happy in it, there were immediate suspicions that the recordings were faked. Users online speculated that it was possibly a doppelganger – or that the shop visit had been months ago. Since the palace has not commented on it or confirmed Kate’s trip, the video remains a mystery.
Attack on medical records
The royals’ series of mishaps has now been expanded to include a scandal involving Kate’s medical records. On the evening of March 19th reported “The Mirror”that an employee of the London Clinic tried to gain access to the documents illegally. As the Daily Mail wrote a day later, the clinic boss confirmed the initiation of an investigation. However, Kensington Palace did not want to take a position on this, saying that this was a matter for the clinic.
The princess is only scheduled to return to royal service after Easter – until then there is still some time for further confusion in “Kate Gate”.