Hospitalized on January 16 at the London Clinic for “abdominal surgery”, the Princess of Wales has since returned to her home at Adelaide Cottage to continue her convalescence.
While Kensington Palace has not resolved the vagueness of its first press release, Adélaïde de Clermont-Tonnerre, novelist and editorial director of
Point de Vue
, enlightens us on the long silence of the Palace and the different hypotheses that result from it.
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Madame Figaro
.- On January 17, Kensington Palace announced the hospitalization of
Kate Middleton
then nothing, radio silence, until Monday January 29 with this press release announcing her release from the London Clinic.
Why this strategy of “so little information”?
Adélaïde de Clermont-Tonnerre.-
Honestly, this suggests that the situation is serious.
In any case, this is what strikes all observers.
Usually, the cult of secrecy does not exist among the Windsors.
On the contrary, they are inclined to talk about what is happening to them, including their health, because this helps raise awareness among their fellow citizens affected by the same pathologies.
Hence the fact that Charles III talked about his enlarged prostate without taboo, while few men dared to brag about it in public.
He said it without difficulty, in order to help play down this benign pathology.
Afterwards, it is true that the Windsors have not been confronted with this type of situation much.
They have iron health, are rather tough to harm, and resist cold and bad weather.
They have a very balanced life, eat organic and local, spend a lot of time outdoors, drink alcohol of course, but not to absolute excess, apart from the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret.
As Gainsbourg would say: “Alcohol preserves fruits;
the smoke preserves the meat.
Elizabeth II has only been hospitalized twice in 20 years.
The other thing too is that they are very closely monitored…
Charles III in particular, and before him Elizabeth II.
The monarch has, in fact, a dedicated medical team and a guard who scrupulously monitors his health.
It is therefore true that the members of the royal family are very supported and helped.
All you have to do is see the developed medical equipment in the palaces.
What relationship does the royal family have with medicine?
Among the Windsors, there is a certain curiosity about medicine.
Favorable to alternative medicine, Charles III also created some controversy by appointing Dr. Michael Dixon as head of his medical team, because the latter is for a global approach to medicine, and known to be a defender alternative medicine and homeopathy.
The royal family has always had an interest in medicine, health and well-being.
Already in 1835, Queen Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen, who was the wife of William IV, was in favor of alternative medicine, that's saying something!
If we come back to Kate's "abdominal surgery" and the deafening silence of her office, can we say that this is new in Kate and William's communication, or do they usually prefer not to announce only the bare minimum?
No, generally Wales is very transparent.
The last time Kate had been hospitalized, the reason had been formally stated.
It was then because of very severe nausea linked to her pregnancy.
There was no question of hiding anything at all, and that is why the current situation is of such concern.
On the one hand, because the hospitalization is long.
On the other hand, because two to three months of convalescence is a long time and suggests major surgery.
Kate, however, appeared to be in perfect health.
Knowing that she is, with her husband William, one of the favorite personalities of the royal family - a family in the midst of a revolution in recent times - the concern of the British is real.
Read alsoHealth of Kate Middleton: the latest information on her convalescence in the countryside
Have Kate and William never, in the past, maintained such a cult of secrecy?
Never.
It's the first time, hence the concern.
Maybe because here it affects Kate a lot and we want to protect her as much as possible.
But usually Wales never communicate that way.
Quite the contrary.
Since they are following in Diana's footsteps, they are in a line of openness and transparency, in opposition to the modest line dear to Elizabeth II.
This is evidenced by William's confessions about mental health and his need to see a psychologist after the death of his mother.
Result: if they didn't want to worry public opinion, it was a failure.
Under the reign of Elizabeth II, the principle of “never explain, never complain” prevailed. Has this strategy borne fruit?
It bore fruit, but on the medical subject, the queen's specialty was to make the announcements right after.
A way to avoid arousing people's concern.
Especially since it was never a big problem.
We talked about a routine check-up, a back problem, once a urinary infection for Prince Philip.
Not very glamorous...
Surprisingly, the English press and in particular the tabloids are not stingy on the subject of Kate's hospitalization. Why so much reserve?
Without this reservation, the tabloids would risk alienating public opinion.
Kate's health is worrying the British, so if some titles are trash funds or trying to break into the princess's hospital, that would be a problem.
We must remember a precedent which left its mark in 2012. At the time, an Australian radio station had trapped a nurse from the clinic in which Kate was hospitalized [pregnant
with Prince George, she then suffered from hyperemesis gravidarum, very intense nausea which leads to dehydration and weight loss, Editor's note
] The hosts pretended to be Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles at the time to get news from Kate.
The nurse responded candidly, unaware of the hoax, and it created quite a scandal.
The poor nurse, mortified at having made a mistake, ended up committing suicide.
Did this 2012 hoax strengthen privacy protocols?
It is certain that they have since been greatly tightened.
The security services had to pull out all the stops so that nothing leaked this time.
Moreover, we see it: Kate managed to leave the London Clinic in complete secrecy, through a back door.
But is there a tacit pact between the Windsors and the tabloids?
I'm not sure the tabloids play by any rules, unless they're all negotiating a first interview with Kate or exclusivity around the reason for her surgery or first outing.
Negotiations must certainly be underway.
In his memoir,
Spare
(
The Substitute
, in French), Prince Harry denounced the close and ambivalent link that exists between the royal family and the celebrity press.
Can we imagine that here the weak media coverage of Kate's hospitalization is a way of remaining in the Palace's good books?
Honestly, I don't think so.
Even if the Royal Gotha and the royal chroniclers play the game, others have not backed down on anything for a long time.
The titles of the Murdoch press group in particular.
And for good reason, it would be such a world scoop to publish the slightest photo or information about Kate.
What's more, the royal family does not generally sue the press.
William did it against
Closer
in 2012, when Kate was photographed topless in the south of France, or when it was revealed that former BBC journalist Martin Bashir had framed his mother Diana.
Other than that, Windsors tend not to attack.
Instead, they avoid putting pressure on the press.
But then, what do you think royal specialists really know about Kate's health?
Not much or not enough, otherwise it would already leak.
Many rumors suggest gynecological causes.
For now, nothing has been confirmed.
There are not enough sources to confirm the diagnosis.
When we take a closer look at the London Clinic, this hospital treats more than 150 pathologies and has an extremely wide range of care.
Certainly, there is a very renowned cancer center but its other services are just as renowned.
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