Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
Alamy Stock Photo
Watch the Throne
'Where's Kate?' - Here's why the royal rumour mill has gone into overdrive in the last 24 hours
Kate Middleton has not been seen since abdominal surgery in mid-January.
4.06pm, 28 Feb 2024
65.3k
SOCIAL MEDIA SPECULATION concerning the absence of Kate Middleton from public life has reached fever pitch in the last 24 hours.
Middleton, whose official monarchic titles include the Duchess of Cambridge and the Princess of Wales, has not been seen in nearly six weeks following a medical procedure last month.
It had been announced on 16 January that Middleton was undergoing abdominal surgery at the London Clinic. At the time, a spokesperson for Kensington Palace further specified that the surgery was not cancer-related. Further details pertaining to the purpose of the surgery, however, have been withheld from the public at large both in the immediate aftermath of the surgery and the weeks since.
International news outlets have begun to report on Middleton’s absence, such as this Newsweek headline which refers to her as “missing”. Other major entertainment outlets such as Vanity Fair and Cosmpolitan have also written about Middleton’s absence since yesterday.
Kensington Palace, the royal residence where Middleton lives, yesterday issued a statement saying that Middleton “continues to be doing well,” though no further details were provided.
The opacity surrounding Middleton’s recovery has given rise to an online rumour mill that continues to gather pace in the aftermath of yesterday’s statement. Middleton was one of the top trending topics on Twitter as of Wednesday morning, with many of the tweets having a conspiratorial bent, making unfounded claims about why she has not reappeared before the public eye.
At the beginning of February, the Times of London issued a report citing a Kensington Palace source robustly refuting claims by Spanish journalist Concha Calleja that Middleton was in an induced coma. In that report, a palace source said: “It’s total nonsense. No attempt was made by that journalist to fact-check anything that she said with anyone in the household. It’s fundamentally, totally made-up, and I’ll use polite English here: it’s absolutely not the case.”
But speculation remains rife despite the official assurances that Middleton is recovering well, with rumours focusing not just on the 42-year-old’s health, but also the status of her marriage to Prince William.
Focus was drawn to the pair’s relationship this week when William issued a statement on Gaza, in which Charles’ heir said: “There is a desperate need for increased humanitarian support to Gaza. It’s critical that aid gets in and hostages are released.”
Advertisement
In contrast to a Kensington Palace statement issued in the wake of the October 7th attack by Hamas, William’s latest statement is addressed from “The Prince of Wales” as opposed to “The Prince and Princess of Wales.” The latest statement also bears William’s personal royal monogram, which October’s statement did not.
Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
Internet users have inevitably begun to speculate that Kate’s ostensible absence from the statement is evidence of a marriage in trouble. One headline published by the Daily Mail earlier this week reads: “Don’t lecture us all about Gaza, William… just tell us how Kate is.”
Middleton and Prince William have been married since 2011 and have three children together: George, Charlotte and Louis. As things stand, George, Charlotte and Louis follow their father in the line of succession (in order of birth).
The three children have not been pictured since their mother’s surgery, nor have Middleton’s parents. All photos shared by official channels since last month have been “throwbacks”.
The speculation surrounding Middleton’s marriage to William adds a further layer of complication to the health concerns currently faced by British King Charles III. Charles was coronated in May of last year, following the death of Queen Elizabeth II. The 75-year-old monarch was diagnosed with cancer for which he is now receiving treatment. Buckingham Palace has not shared details as to the type of cancer, its stage, its progression or the King’s prognosis. Charles has, in keeping with medical advice, suspended all of his public facing duties.
Not now, sweetie, mommy's down a MAJOR rabbit hole concerning Kate Middleton's whereabouts since December pic.twitter.com/wt0ZWgmZDN
The focus on Middleton, her marriage to William, and the line of succession, intensified yesterday when Kensington Palace announced that Prince William would be pulling out of an official appearance.
In a brief statement, the palace wrote: “Unfortunately, The Prince of Wales is no longer able to attend the King Constantine Memorial Service this morning due to a personal matter”. Constantine, a second cousin King Charles III, died at the age of 82 last year. He was King of Greece at the time the country abolished its monarchy in 1973.
It was confirmed that William’s rain-check was not related to his father’s health. No further explanation was put forward, in keeping with the theme of the last few weeks.
Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone...
A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article.
Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.
Death toll from Israel's war in Gaza surpasses 50,000, says territory's health ministry
Updated
2 hrs ago
5.6k
the vatican
'Thank you, everyone': Pope Francis greets crowds after release from hospital
Updated
2 hrs ago
5.5k
54
Crumlin
Man (50s) hospitalised after attack by XL Bully dog in Co Dublin
23 hrs ago
47.3k
Your Cookies. Your Choice.
Cookies help provide our news service while also enabling the advertising needed to fund this work.
We categorise cookies as Necessary, Performance (used to analyse the site performance) and Targeting (used to target advertising which helps us keep this service free).
We and our 160 partners store and access personal data, like browsing data or unique identifiers, on your device. Selecting Accept All enables tracking technologies to support the purposes shown under we and our partners process data to provide. If trackers are disabled, some content and ads you see may not be as relevant to you. You can resurface this menu to change your choices or withdraw consent at any time by clicking the Cookie Preferences link on the bottom of the webpage .Your choices will have effect within our Website. For more details, refer to our Privacy Policy.
We and our vendors process data for the following purposes:
Use precise geolocation data. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Store and/or access information on a device. Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development.
Cookies Preference Centre
We process your data to deliver content or advertisements and measure the delivery of such content or advertisements to extract insights about our website. We share this information with our partners on the basis of consent. You may exercise your right to consent, based on a specific purpose below or at a partner level in the link under each purpose. Some vendors may process your data based on their legitimate interests, which does not require your consent. You cannot object to tracking technologies placed to ensure security, prevent fraud, fix errors, or deliver and present advertising and content, and precise geolocation data and active scanning of device characteristics for identification may be used to support this purpose. This exception does not apply to targeted advertising. These choices will be signaled to our vendors participating in the Transparency and Consent Framework.
Manage Consent Preferences
Necessary Cookies
Always Active
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then these services may not function properly.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not be able to monitor our performance.
Store and/or access information on a device 110 partners can use this purpose
Cookies, device or similar online identifiers (e.g. login-based identifiers, randomly assigned identifiers, network based identifiers) together with other information (e.g. browser type and information, language, screen size, supported technologies etc.) can be stored or read on your device to recognise it each time it connects to an app or to a website, for one or several of the purposes presented here.
Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development 142 partners can use this purpose
Use limited data to select advertising 112 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times an ad is presented to you).
Create profiles for personalised advertising 83 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (such as forms you submit, content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (for example, information from your previous activity on this service and other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (that might include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present advertising that appears more relevant based on your possible interests by this and other entities.
Use profiles to select personalised advertising 83 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on your advertising profiles, which can reflect your activity on this service or other websites or apps (like the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects.
Create profiles to personalise content 38 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (for instance, forms you submit, non-advertising content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (such as your previous activity on this service or other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (which might for example include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present content that appears more relevant based on your possible interests, such as by adapting the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find content that matches your interests.
Use profiles to select personalised content 34 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on your content personalisation profiles, which can reflect your activity on this or other services (for instance, the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects. This can for example be used to adapt the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find (non-advertising) content that matches your interests.
Measure advertising performance 133 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which advertising is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine how well an advert has worked for you or other users and whether the goals of the advertising were reached. For instance, whether you saw an ad, whether you clicked on it, whether it led you to buy a product or visit a website, etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of advertising campaigns.
Measure content performance 59 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which content is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine whether the (non-advertising) content e.g. reached its intended audience and matched your interests. For instance, whether you read an article, watch a video, listen to a podcast or look at a product description, how long you spent on this service and the web pages you visit etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of (non-advertising) content that is shown to you.
Understand audiences through statistics or combinations of data from different sources 74 partners can use this purpose
Reports can be generated based on the combination of data sets (like user profiles, statistics, market research, analytics data) regarding your interactions and those of other users with advertising or (non-advertising) content to identify common characteristics (for instance, to determine which target audiences are more receptive to an ad campaign or to certain contents).
Develop and improve services 83 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service, such as your interaction with ads or content, can be very helpful to improve products and services and to build new products and services based on user interactions, the type of audience, etc. This specific purpose does not include the development or improvement of user profiles and identifiers.
Use limited data to select content 37 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type, or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times a video or an article is presented to you).
Use precise geolocation data 46 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, your precise location (within a radius of less than 500 metres) may be used in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Actively scan device characteristics for identification 27 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, certain characteristics specific to your device might be requested and used to distinguish it from other devices (such as the installed fonts or plugins, the resolution of your screen) in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Ensure security, prevent and detect fraud, and fix errors 92 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Your data can be used to monitor for and prevent unusual and possibly fraudulent activity (for example, regarding advertising, ad clicks by bots), and ensure systems and processes work properly and securely. It can also be used to correct any problems you, the publisher or the advertiser may encounter in the delivery of content and ads and in your interaction with them.
Deliver and present advertising and content 99 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Certain information (like an IP address or device capabilities) is used to ensure the technical compatibility of the content or advertising, and to facilitate the transmission of the content or ad to your device.
Match and combine data from other data sources 72 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Information about your activity on this service may be matched and combined with other information relating to you and originating from various sources (for instance your activity on a separate online service, your use of a loyalty card in-store, or your answers to a survey), in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Link different devices 53 partners can use this feature
Always Active
In support of the purposes explained in this notice, your device might be considered as likely linked to other devices that belong to you or your household (for instance because you are logged in to the same service on both your phone and your computer, or because you may use the same Internet connection on both devices).
Identify devices based on information transmitted automatically 88 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Your device might be distinguished from other devices based on information it automatically sends when accessing the Internet (for instance, the IP address of your Internet connection or the type of browser you are using) in support of the purposes exposed in this notice.
Save and communicate privacy choices 69 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
The choices you make regarding the purposes and entities listed in this notice are saved and made available to those entities in the form of digital signals (such as a string of characters). This is necessary in order to enable both this service and those entities to respect such choices.
have your say