By Kaetlyn Liddy—
NBC News
The Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton, has become the latest target of conspiracy theories on the internet, where users on social networks are speculating about why they believe she has been away from the public eye.
Kensington Palace has reported that Middleton is recovering from a scheduled abdominal operation.
On January 17, he announced that the princess, 42, would be away from public life until after Easter.
However, after her husband, Prince William, heir to the British throne, withdrew from his godfather's funeral this week due, according to the British Royal Family, to a "personal matter", Middleton's name began to trend. on the social network with a wave of memes, jokes and theories without any basis.
Hundreds of people also commented on a Reddit thread titled: "What's going on with Kate Middleton?"
Middleton, pictured in London on November 15, 2023.Samir Hussein / WireImage
Elizabeth Holmes, an expert writer on royalty, highlighted the “absurdity” of the theories on social networks, galvanized by the prince's absence at his godfather's funeral.
“There are certainly people who are genuinely concerned about her, but the social media storm was unfair,” said the writer, “this woman has just undergone major surgery and is recovering within the 10-week time frame that the Palace provided. originally".
Kensington Palace indicated on Tuesday that the princess remains well, but declined to give further details, which only seemed to fuel further speculation.
Images began to circulate of the last time she was photographed by British tabloids on Christmas Day.
There were also those who quickly began posting memes.
Some joked that the princess could be recovering from a cosmetic procedure known as BBL, in which fat is transferred from the stomach and thighs to the buttocks.
Other people suggested that perhaps she was secretly performing on
The Masked Singer
, a
reality show
that anonymously features celebrities singing in costumes, or on
Celebrity Big Brother
.
Many also piggybacked on the Internet frenzy surrounding the chaotic Willy Wonka-inspired experience in Glasgow, Scotland, manipulating images to show the princess there.
[Joe Biden meets King Charles III for tea on his first stop in Europe]
There are no reports to suggest that any of these conspiracies are even remotely true.
The boundaries between royals' lives as publicly subsidized figures and people with private lives have been recurring topics of debate.
William's mother, Princess Diana, died in 1997 in a car accident while trying to elude paparazzi in Paris.
His younger brother, Harry, and his wife, Meghan Markle, stepped back from royal duties in 2020 after the couple came under intense media scrutiny.
More recently, the princes' father, King Charles III, made headlines for his cancer diagnosis.
The monarch has canceled his public engagements while he receives treatment.
Middleton and the king's recent health problems have continued to spark debates about transparency around the royal family's medical information.
“The royal family considers health to be a private matter,” Holmes said.
“If information is shared, it is usually intentionally vague or released after the fact.
“I think that vagueness hurt them in this case,” he said.
A spokesperson for Middleton
reiterated Thursday that “she is doing well.”
“Kensington Palace made clear in January the timeline for the princess's recovery and that we would only provide significant updates.
That orientation remains,” she said.