Before being unexpectedly captured on camera on Monday by American news outlet TMZ, Kate Middleton had not been spotted in public since Christmas Day. For a variety of reasons, no British tabloid chose to print the photo, but it has since become the talk of the town and additional concerns about Kate’s health are being voiced.
The Army revealed the Princess of Wales’s first public appearance following her operation yesterday. It was quickly taken down, though, and Kensington Palace has not officially acknowledged this. Her uncle has made the decision to keep her activities under wraps in the interim.
Several royal analysts have commented on the recent paparazzi photo of Kate, and a recurring theme has been her unexpected vulnerability. Some claim Kate probably didn’t want her image taken, while others think it reveals a “depressing” truth about her present circumstances.
Although Easter was originally supposed to mark the end of Kate’s recuperation, there is still almost a month before then, and new information indicates that the princess is returning to her regular life.
First picture taken of Kate Middleton after surgery, published
The first photo of Kate Middleton taken since her operation was made public by the American news website TMZ on Monday, March 4. The princess hasn’t been photographed in public since Christmas Day. In the latest image, Kate is seen in a car’s passenger seat, sporting sunglasses.
As for Kate Middleton, no British tabloid has published the photo as of yet because she has requested seclusion during her recuperation.
Kate’s calendar has been completely free since she was admitted to the hospital on January 16 in order to have the scheduled abdominal surgery. It’s confirmed that this was her first outing following her rehabilitation.
Kate Middleton will attend the Trooping the Colour dress rehearsal ceremony on June 8 before the big event on June 15, the Minister of Defense revealed on Wednesday. Only hours later, it seems that Kensington Palace made a grave error in not confirming the Princess of Wales’ attendance at the function.
The Army website no longer features Kate Middleton’s supposed return to royal duty, as multiple British tabloids reported. Regarding the Princess of Wales’ appearance, Kensington Palace was “not consulted,” according to GB News.
Kin Cheung – WPA Pool/Getty Images
Concerns regarding Kate’s health have been expressed by many royal admirers, and some have even called for the palace to provide regular updates on her condition. A royal spokesman, meanwhile, stated that the palace “made it clear in January” that they would only offer “significant updates” when required.
Royal expert blames the Palace for ‘fueling’ speculations about Kate Middleton
But as rumors about Kate’s condition continue to swirl, some royal experts are calling on Kate and the palace to take action in response to the first photo of Kate after the surgery that TMZ released.
Kate Middleton’s privacy has been closely guarded by Kensington Palace while she recovers from surgery. Photographers were nowhere to be seen when Kate and her family visited their Anmer Hall estate in Sandringham a few weeks ago, and no photos of her were leaked as she left or arrived at the hospital.
The fact that a picture of Kate has now been leaked is undoubtedly seen as a failure and disappointment for the palace.
Meanwhile, Newsweek’s chief royal correspondent Jack Royston argues that the government’s release of so little information—which the public has demanded—has contributed to the situation.
“The kind of secrecy that Kensington Palace brought to this situation fuelled completely feverish wild speculation online, and that creates the demand that means TMZ know that they’re going to make big bucks running these pictures because they know that huge numbers of people are going to go and click on this story,” Royston told Good Morning Britain on Tuesday.
“And that means that they can pay big amounts of money to the photographer, which makes it worth the photographer’s while to take the risk to get these pictures.”
Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images
Royston stated that Kensington Palace could have handled the situation better, making it all go away last week.
“Kate could have taken a picture herself. She could have taken a selfie. William could have taken it. It didn’t need to be a good picture. Didn’t need to be a high-res image. It just needed to be a picture or a little video like Charles did,” he continued.
Picture of Kate “definitely” not staged, expert claims
The royal expert added that Kensington Palace has allowed it to “snowball into a massive thing” only because they haven’t protected Kate well enough.
“What’s effectively happened is they’ve allowed this to snowball into a massive thing, and if they’d got ahead of it then they would have actually protected Kate better,” Jack Royston continued when appearing on Good Morning Britain.
“It probably felt to them at the time like they were protecting her and shielding her by just leaving her to get on with her recovery undisturbed but actually this is not protecting Kate. Her being papped in Windsor, the [Daily] Mail is speculating that she may have been on the school run, that that’s not protecting her. She was not going to feel protected in this moment.”
There have been whispers that Kate possibly wanted her picture taken as she sat in the car. However, according to Christopher Andersen, author of The King, it was “definitely” not staged.
“She was trying to sneak out of Windsor with her mother and was clearly not pleased that they had been spotted by a photographer,” Andersen told Fox.“This cloak-and-dagger stuff is only going to fuel more speculation about what’s really going on with Kate and with her father-in-law, King Charles.
Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images
He added, “In its typically smug fashion, the palace issued a statement last week insisting that everything was going according to plan. They never explained, however, why Kate spent weeks in the hospital after ‘planned abdominal surgery’ and has needed to remain closeted away for months. It’s all been terribly fishy from the get-go.”
Kate Middleton chose not to share details of her medical condition with the public
Everyone has the right to privacy, and Kate Middleton is also one of them, despite her being the Princess of Wales and a future queen. As she underwent abdominal surgery in January, she decided not to release details of her medical condition, which she, of course, is entitled to.
Meanwhile, King Charles went the other way, disclosing everything as he got treatment for an enlarged prostate.
In a statement, the king said he did it because he hoped it could help other men to seek consultation and go to checkups, too. The discussion quickly shifted to whether Kate Middleton shouldn’t have done the same by giving the public all the information about what she was going through.
There have been many speculations about Kate Middleton’s health in the last month. One doctor argued that her recovery could take up to nine months. A royal expert claimed that Adelaide Cottage, where Kate lives with Prince William and their three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis, was too cold of a house to recover at. A mental health expert said Kate needed to rest for as long as possible.
Karwai Tang/WireImage
At the same time, Kensington Palace has only released a few statements on Kate’s recovery, and as of the latest, it has been revealed that she is doing well. The fact that Kensington Palace hasn’t released one single picture of her leaves question marks.
Royal author says it “wouldn’t have hurt” Kate to “pop her head above the paparet”
In the Fox interview, The King author Christopher Andersen wondered if Kate really is doing well. Because if she is, he continued, she could have stepped outside and “smile for photographers.”
“Keep in mind that members of the royal family in particular are famous for getting out there [and] keeping up appearances no matter what,” Andersen said. “Queen Elizabeth never spent months recovering from an illness, and over the course of her 70-year reign, she dealt with a number of serious medical issues. So, the mystery surrounding Kate’s surgery and what it was for deepens.”
Andersen concluded that while Kate wanted to keep things private, it “wouldn’t have hurt” her to “pop her head above the parapet every now and then.”
Meanwhile, even though she has been criticized for being too private and not sharing information with royal fans, the royal author says it’s not too late to change that.
“It may also be that her medical problem, whatever it is, gave her a new appreciation of what she regards as truly important in life – spending time at home with her children. Kate really is such a pro at handling the press and the public, for her to remain out of sight like this really has to make one wonder: What in God’s name is going on?” he concluded.
Ian Vogler-WPA Pool/Getty Images
Kate Middleton and her husband, Prince William, indeed gave a lot of thought to how they were to handle the situation around the surgery and how the public was to react to the fact that they weren’t going to release any specific details about it or her recovery.
Royal expert shares heartbreaking truth behind latest Kate Middleton picture
Did they possibly underestimate the public’s demands regarding what they feel they are entitled to know rather than should? According to Daniela Elser, the paparazzi picture of Kate published on TMZ’s website tells a bigger story, and it’s not a happy one.
Was Kensington Palace and William’s Kate blackout a gross miscalculation? In an age where the public demands greater accountability and transparency, was this plan always going to come to grief?” Elser asked in a column for News.com.au. How much privacy and space does a future Queen get, need, or deserve?
“With these new images, it’s depressing that it looks a lot like Kate felt she had to let her face be seen in public to stem the tide of delirium. There is something just a bit screwy and upsetting and off-kilter about the internet rabble being able to alter the plan for the 42-year-old’s recovery.”
Moreover, Elser added that Prince William had played a part in the picture even being published. Last week, he canceled royal duty for a “personal matter,” which initially sparked speculations about Kate’s health.
Scott Garfitt/Getty Images for BAFTA
It was later confirmed it wasn’t, but as the explanation was, as Elser describes as “purposefully vague,” he didn’t make it easier for his wife.
“Why isn’t he helping clean it up”
“Thus, the prince helped make the mess – why isn’t he helping clean it up? Why has it fallen to Kate, who had some sort of surgery significant enough to warrant two weeks in hospital, to dispel the grab bag of daft theories about where she is and what might be going on?” she continued.
Daniela Elser concluded her column with an analysis of the latest picture of Kate, asking if she really “look like a woman who is ready or keen to be back on display” or to be “put on public view like a museum specimen.”
“I suppose if there is one lesson to be drawn from all this is that princesses might get all the gee-gaws and diamonds they might fancy but choice? Freedom? Real independence? Maybe there’s no such thing as a free ten-bedroom Norfolk estate after all. Everything has a price,” Elser stated.
Please share this article to show your support for Kate in her recovery!
