Princess Kate spotted: Unanswered questions amid surgery, photo drama
Where is Princess Kate? USA TODAY reporter Naledi Ushe breaks down the “royal scandal” and the timeline that reveals more questions than answers.
Princess Kate has been diagnosed with cancer and is undergoing chemotherapy, Kensington Palace announced on Friday.
“I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you personally for all the wonderful messages of support and your understanding while I’ve been recovering from surgery,” Kate said in a video released by the palace. “These have been incredibly difficult months for our entire family. But I had a fantastic medical team who took great care of me, for which I am so grateful.
“In January, I had major abdominal surgery in London. And at the time, my condition was thought to be non-cancerous,” she continued. “The operation was successful (but) after the operation (doctors) found cancer.”
Princess Kate talks about cancer in video: Watch
Princess Kate’s cancer announcement follows close scrutiny
The announcement follows weeks of rumors and conspiracy theories about her health and whereabouts since she first stepped back from public engagements in January to recover from abdominal surgery.
The palace first reported in January that Princess Kate had been admitted to hospital for planned abdominal surgery, news that followed weeks later on King Charles’ cancer diagnosis.
In a statement at the time, the palace said Princess Kate’s operation was a success, but that “based on current medical advice, it is unlikely she will return to public duties before Easter.”
“She hopes the public will understand her desire to maintain as much normalcy as possible for her children; and her desire to keep her personal medical information confidential,” the statement added.
She returned home almost two weeks after being admitted to hospital and Kensington Palace said she was “progressing well”.
“The Prince and Princess would like to extend a huge thank you to the entire team at the London Clinic, particularly the dedicated nursing staff, for the care they provided,” the palace continued in January. “The Wells family continues to be grateful for the well wishes they have received from around the world.”
Public royal Princess Kate went private: Abdominal surgery, photo scandal brings rumors
Palace pays attention to Princess Kate’s absence after months of rumors and conspiracies
Kate has not been seen officially since the royal family’s Christmas service in December. British tabloid The Sun reported later in March that Kate had been spotted shopping with Prince William, and American tabloid TMZ backed up photos and video of the outing. But the video didn’t necessarily put an end to the conspiracy theories.
Conspiracy theories were fueled by a photo-editing scandal in early March. After Kate shared a photo with her children for Mother’s Day and thanked the public for their “kind wishes and continued support”, major photo agencies quickly removed it due to “manipulation”.
The said AFP“It has become clear that the leaflet issued today by Kensington Palace for Kate and the children has been altered, which is why it has been pulled from AFP systems.”
Public royal Princess Kate went private: Abdominal surgery, photo scandal brings rumors
The Princess of Wales subsequently admitted that the photo had been edited, sending conspiracy theorists into a frenzy of speculation as to why this was necessary.
“Like many amateur photographers, I sometimes experiment with editing,” she said on social mediaeia. “I wanted to express my apologies for the confusion the family photo we shared yesterday caused. I hope all those celebrating had a very happy Mother’s Day.’
Social media users quickly began overanalyzing the footage, with some refusing to believe the video was authentic in light of the photo-editing mayhem. Others suggest that Kate looks perfectly healthy in the footage and wonder why there has been such secrecy in light of this.
Where is Princess Kate? Timeline of what to know about the royal family during surgery, photo drama
In February, Kensington Palace aimed to put theories about her absence to rest in a statement that said she was “doing well” and stressed that she had always been expected to stay out of the public eye until the end of March.
“We’ve been very clear from the beginning that the Princess of Wales is out until Easter and Kensington Palace will only provide updates when it’s important,” the statement provided to People and ABC News said at the time.