How a week of Princess of Wales conspiracies are testing royal tradition

Amid a torrent of social media rumours speculating on Kate’s health, can the policy of ‘never complain, never explain’ continue to hold? Photo / Getty Images

It has been 68 days, the internet will tell you, since the public saw “Kate Middleton”.

That she is recovering from major surgery at home – the explanation offered freely, clearly and repeatedly by the palace – is not enough to satisfy modern curiosity.

According to social media, overseas websites and WhatsApp groups across the country, she may instead be hiding in a mystery location, in a coma, being cloned, having “Brazilian butt lift” cosmetic surgery, or waiting for a bad haircut to grow out.

For the avoidance of doubt: she isn’t.

But the void of news and photographs of the Princess of Wales has seen the royal-watching landscape reach a new level of lunacy.

In the absence of a stream of updates from Kensington Palace about the Princess, there comes the wisdom of social media conspiracy theorists and trolls making mischief – some glib, others (in light of the Princess’s inarguable medical needs) grimly sinister.

The old palace policy of “never complain, never explain” is being tested to destruction.

“From our perspective, we were very clear from our statement at the start of this in January that the Princess of Wales planned to be out of public action until after Easter, and that hasn’t changed,” says a spokesman for the Waleses.

“We were always clear we wouldn’t be providing updates when there wasn’t anything new to share.

“The last thing anyone wants is a running commentary of the Princess of Wales’s recovery. Nothing has changed from that approach in January.”

Prince William receives a bouquet of flowers for his wife during a visit to the Western Marble Arch Synagogue in London on February 29. Photo / Getty Images

Back then, they said the Princess had undergone abdominal surgery that left her in hospital for two weeks, and that she would be taking time off public duty to recuperate, at least until Easter.

In 2024, for a public now used to its news moving at lightning speed, it seems that is not enough to placate them.

“Rumours swirl about Kate, Princess of Wales, amid health concerns,” said The New York Times. Vogue tracked “The Curious Case Of Kate Middleton’s ‘Disappearance’”, while numerous websites asked: “Where Is Kate Middleton?”

Even the BBC was moved to mention “a royal dilemma as public curiosity over Kate’s health grows”.

Some of that public curiosity has been benign, some heartfelt, and much downright unpleasant, told through online jokes and memes.

“Some of it’s funny, I guess?” said one source. “More of it is pretty uncomfortable, when you remember this is a real person they’re talking about.”

Add in a new media landscape where anyone can set themselves up as a “royal expert”, it all has an air of spiralling out of control.

The Princess is not expected to appear in public until after Easter. Photo / AP

Much of the divisive disinformation about the Royal family is assumed to have been spread by bots and trolls, but there are now countless social media accounts dedicated to obsessive fandoms cheering on either the Sussexes or the Waleses at the expense of the other.

TikTok influencers who discuss royal events from thousands of miles away, having never set foot in a room with a royal or anyone who knows them, garner multi-millions of views by virtue of being outside the “mainstream media”.

Even the more traditional parts of the media have played a part – overseas. A detailed report on a popular Spanish television news programme, alleging that the Princess was in a coma, is still being widely discussed despite being denied in full by a royal aide.

All in, the palaces now face an ungovernable cycle of new media which is meddling with its protocols like never before.

No one has agreed when, where or even if the late Queen Elizabeth II ever really said “never complain, never explain”, but there is no doubt it has come to sum up her reign.

The Waleses attending the Christmas Morning Service at Sandringham Church last year. Photo / AP

If there were already signs that her heirs were not going to take the same party line, the past few weeks have seen it spelt out clearly.

Part of the problem, one old hand points out, is the difference in the responses between the palaces: Kensington representing the Waleses and Buckingham representing the King and Queen.

“The public just doesn’t know what to expect,” the source noted. “One day they’re hearing all about the King’s prostate, the next they’re not hearing why William has missed his godfather’s memorial.

“Neither of those approaches are necessarily right or wrong, but you can see why the general public are confused.”

Another said: “I honestly don’t think there’s any mystery or need to panic.”

At Buckingham Palace, an air of openness – up to a point – has so far prevailed.

After confirming that the King was suffering from enlarged prostate symptoms, the public has seen him coming in and out of hospital with the Queen by his side.

He has been seen regularly since it emerged that he had cancer, including being photographed smiling and waving to the public in London, driven in the State Bentley with its deliberately large windows.

His office allowed the rare filming of the first minute of his in-person audience with the Prime Minister, and later released photographs of him looking through his get-well-soon cards.

On Commonwealth Day, instead of attending a Westminster Abbey service, he will deliver a video message.

The impression is that of a King who wants to be seen, reassuring the public that the business of state continues and the monarchy stands strong.

“It’s important that not only do we say he’s performing those duties, but he’s seen to be performing those duties,” a palace aide said.

Defenders of the palaces point out that there is a vast difference between a King who is head of state and a Princess and mother-of-three who has no day-to-day constitutional responsibilities.

From left, Queen Camilla, Britain's King Charles III, Britain's Prince William and Kate, Princess of Wales, at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, after the National Service of Thanksgiving and Dedication for King Charles III and Queen Camilla, and the presentation of the Honours of Scotland, in Edinburgh in July 2023. Photo / AP

After calls for the Princess to pose for photographs as evidence of her whereabouts, one source says: “Why should she? Truly, I don’t get it. In what other circumstance would a woman take sick leave after a major operation, and instead of being allowed to recover she’s supposed to pose for pictures?”

Those who know the Prince point out that his recent inclination for openness – from talking about mental health to speaking out on Gaza – reaches its limits when it comes to his wife.

The truth about the Princess’s health, say friends of the Waleses, is not salacious. She is doing well; she will be fine; her recovery is tiring and necessarily long.

She did not stay in hospital for two weeks through private healthcare decadence or – as some ill-thought-through online theories would have – to get some peace and quiet: it was, literally, for the good of her health.

This isn’t the first time royal rumours have run wild, online or otherwise. But this does come at a moment of true challenge for the monarchy.

“They need to be aligned in their approach,” says a former royal adviser. “At the moment, one palace never explains, the other is always explaining.”

“Never complain, never explain” suited the era of Queen Elizabeth II. Once this latest saga is over, the royals back on their feet, the next generation may have a chance to figure out a version fit for the 21st century.