Kate Middleton's Royal Absence_ Breaking Down The Timeline
Kate Middleton's Royal Absence_ Breaking Down The Timeline
Transcript
00:00 Kate Middleton has been the topic of royal talk for nearly two months, amid her step away from the public eye as she recovers from surgery.
00:07 And the updates fans have gotten from the princess and the palace have still left many with questions.
00:12 Access Hollywood is breaking down the whole timeline of events surrounding Kate's hiatus so far, starting all the way back at her most recent royal engagement.
00:19 Kate last attended an official family outing on Christmas Day, going to church in Sandringham with her husband Prince William and their three kids, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
00:29 Following their holiday break, Prince William returned to public duties on January 11th and fans expected Kate to follow suit.
00:35 But on January 17th, Kensington Palace announced that she had been admitted to the hospital the day prior and had undergone a planned abdominal surgery.
00:42 The palace assured that the surgery was successful and laid out her recovery plan, saying she would be staying in the hospital for 10 to 14 days before returning home to continue to heal there.
00:51 And that she would be, quote, unlikely to return to public duties until after Easter, which falls on March 31st.
00:57 The palace's statement also explained that Kate will be keeping things largely private.
01:01 It read in part, "The Princess of Wales appreciates the interest this statement will generate.
01:05 She hopes that the public will understand her desire to maintain as much normality for her children as possible and her wish that personal medical information remains private.
01:13 Kensington Palace will, therefore, only provide updates on Her Royal Highness's progress when there is significant new information to share."
01:20 Details surrounding the specifics of Kate's surgical procedure were not made available, but NBC News reported the surgery was not related to cancer.
01:27 The news of Kate's health journey did generate public interest, with many wondering what exactly she had experienced.
01:32 News emerged the next week that King Charles had reportedly visited the princess as she recovered in the hospital while on his way to undergo his own surgery.
01:39 Kensington Palace's first official update came days later on January 29th, when they revealed that Kate was out of the hospital.
01:45 Their statement read in part, "The Princess of Wales has returned home to Windsor to continue her recovery from surgery. She is making good progress."
01:52 Days later, DailyMail.com U.S. Associate Editor Charlie Langston told Access Hollywood about Kate's initial recovery at home and the support that she was getting from family.
02:01 "So we understand that everything went very well for Kate as far as her surgical procedure was concerned.
02:07 She was released per the timeline that the palace gave before she underwent that procedure, and we now know that she is doing well and recovering at home quietly and with plenty of rest.
02:18 Her parents, Michael and Carol, have obviously been there to support her through everything and to provide essential support to William and their children.
02:27 No parent, when they're going through a kind of health crisis of this kind, can really manage to juggle every single little thing.
02:34 And I think having Grandpa Michael and Grandma Carol there will have been invaluable to Kate and William as they try and navigate through this time."
02:43 Following her return home, speculation continued to swirl about Kate's health.
02:47 And when a Spanish news program claimed that the princess had been in an induced coma following alleged complications from her surgery, a royal insider set the record straight.
02:55 The source told the Times of London the story was, quote, "total nonsense" and, quote, "absolutely not the case."
03:01 After Kate settled in back home, another royal family member was hit with the health challenge.
03:06 Buckingham Palace announced on February 5th that King Charles had been diagnosed with cancer and would be stepping back from public duties on the advice of his doctors.
03:13 With both Charles and Kate focused on their health, William was expected to step back into public work and take on more royal responsibility.
03:20 Charlie Langston told Access how William would have a lot to balance through this time.
03:24 "He's obviously not going to want to spend too much time away from his wife as she continues to recover.
03:30 So he's the one who's in a real bind here.
03:33 He's got the weight of the monarchy resting on his shoulders, wanting to support his father, also trying to support his wife as she continues to recover, and then parenting their three children.
03:43 That's a really rough spot for William to be in, but I have no doubt that he will handle it with stoicism and grace as he always does."
03:51 On February 7th, William had his first public engagement following news of Kate and Charles' health struggles.
03:56 He made his return to royal duties with back-to-back events, hosting an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle, before heading to a charity gala for London's Air Ambulance.
04:04 As he took the stage at the gala, he shared thanks for all the love people have sent to Charles and Kate.
04:09 "I'd like to take this opportunity to say thank you also for the kind messages of support for Catherine and for my father, especially in recent days.
04:17 It means a great deal to us all."
04:19 Days later, the Daily Mail reported that Kate, William, and their children had traveled to Sandringham for the kids' half-term break to visit King Charles.
04:26 The reporter described her taking the trip as a "clear sign of her improvement," and a source told the outlet that Kate was "recovering well."
04:33 The following week, William was back from the countryside and in London to attend the BAFTAs, and he had two more royal outings over the next few days.
04:40 But when it came time for his next planned outing on February 27th, he pulled out last minute.
04:45 William was supposed to be at Windsor Castle to attend a memorial service in honor of his late godfather, King Constantine of Greece.
04:51 However, Kensington Palace confirmed in a statement that morning that the Prince of Wales could no longer go due to a personal matter.
04:58 The nature of the personal matter was not specified, but at the time, a Palace source assured multiple outlets that Kate, quote, "continues to be doing well" amid her recovery.
05:06 On the day of William's cancellation, Charlie Langston gave Access Hollywood her take on his decision, and if it was any cause for concern.
05:13 "I think the message that the Palace is really trying to get across here is that William didn't miss the memorial service because of a personal emergency, it was because of a personal matter.
05:25 The Palace has proven in the last few months they are willing to be much more open and honest with the public about medical conditions that members of the royal family are struggling with.
05:36 We saw it with Charles' prostate treatment, we then saw it with Charles' cancer diagnosis.
05:41 The fact that the Palace was open about Kate undergoing surgery, so I truly think that if there was something really, really wrong, the Palace would have informed us of that.
05:52 I do think that William is going through a very difficult time in his life right now.
05:57 His father is undergoing treatment for cancer, his wife is recovering from a major surgery, and not only is he having to pick up more responsibility as a father and a husband,
06:08 as well as a son, he's also having to shoulder a lot more of the burden of the responsibility of the royal family.
06:15 But since Charles ascended to the throne, the royal circle has drastically reduced in size.
06:22 So it makes sense to me that he may have reached a point where he needs a break, he may well have decided, but actually no, on this occasion, Kate needs to take priority, or his father needs to take priority,
06:34 and I just don't think that's something we'll ever truly know, but to my mind, that's exactly what's happened here.
06:40 It's William, his position as a father, a husband, a son, before his position as a member of the royal family.
06:48 William doesn't often drop out of events, which put many royal fans on alert, and added some fuel to already swirling conspiracy theories about Kate's health and well-being.
06:56 Charlie Langston told Access Hollywood about the rampant speculation, and how the palace seemed to address it in a statement the following day, and reiterated that Kate would not be back till after Easter.
07:05 Even though the palace gave this timeline from the get-go, that didn't stop social media, the internet, whatever you want to call it, from spinning out some incredibly dramatic conspiracy theories,
07:18 not only about her whereabouts, but also about the procedure that she may have had done.
07:22 There were some people suggesting that she'd had a facelift, other people were sharing mocked-up images of her after she'd had a BBL, you know, butt lift, if I'm allowed to say that kind of thing.
07:33 Other people were saying that she was in a coma, and that she wasn't going to wake up.
07:37 There were even some people who were suggesting that she may have died.
07:41 Now, all of this got so incredibly frenzied online, that the palace made the very rare move of actually addressing all of these conspiracy theories.
07:52 They issued another statement reminding people that they had said from the off that Kate would not be back in public until after Easter,
08:01 and they assured royal well-wishers, as well as all of these conspiracy theorists, that she was doing fine and she was recovering well.
08:08 At the time William pulled out of the memorial service in late February, royal fans had not seen Kate in public or in photos in more than two months.
08:15 Then, in early March, Kate was spotted for the first time since.
08:19 TMZ obtained pictures of her riding in the front seat of an SUV wearing sunglasses, as her mom Carol drove the car near Windsor Castle.
08:25 But, as Charlie Langston told Access Hollywood at the time, the paparazzi photos did not entirely quell the rumor mill.
08:31 Unsurprisingly, they have sparked yet another wave of conspiracy theories.
08:36 You've got some people suggesting that it isn't her, that it's a body double, that it's her sister Pippa, and that actually she's still in a medically-induced coma at home.
08:45 Now, having looked at the images myself, I would argue that it looks very much like Kate.
08:50 They are very grainy photos.
08:52 We believe that the images were taken shortly after Kate and her mother finished the school run.
08:57 And honestly, my hope is that these photos do give people the confidence and the reassurance that Kate is doing okay, that she's taking her recovery step by step,
09:08 and to see her out and about with her mother doing normal things like the school run is a really wonderful thing for us to be able to see,
09:16 because it indicates that she is taking steps forward in her recovery, and that she is, as the palace said, on that right timeline that doctors put in place from the off.
09:25 Further speculation emerged days later, when news of Kate's upcoming return to the public eye ended up being premature.
09:31 On March 5th, the British Army listed the princess on their website as one of those who would take part in the Horse Guards Parade in June, right before Trooping the Colour.
09:38 But Kensington Palace said the next day, per People magazine, that they weren't consulted about her appearing,
09:43 and her name has since been removed from the website, meaning her attendance is still up in the air.
09:47 On March 6th, a spokesperson for Williams seemed to address all the chatter about Kate, making it clear he pays it no mind,
09:53 saying, "His focus is on his work and not on social media."
09:57 But things escalated to a new high days later, when Kate posted her first Instagram photo in months, in honour of Mother's Day in the UK.
10:04 She shared a picture of her smiling surrounded by her three kids, which was taken by William, and captioned it,
10:08 "Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the last two months. Wishing everyone a happy Mother's Day. C."
10:15 Though royal fans at first were happy to see Kate looking rested and healthy on her recovery journey,
10:19 many spotted apparent discrepancies in the photo, and major news agencies, including the Associated Press and Reuters,
10:24 pulled the portrait within hours of its release, citing concerns that it had been manipulated, and saying it did not meet their standards.
10:30 Charlie Langston broke down the details on the apparent inconsistencies.
10:34 When it comes to the royal family, even when they release sweet, candid images,
10:39 you don't really ever see those kinds of editing errors, and there were a lot of them.
10:45 In total, Dailymail.com has counted 16 spots in that photo where editing could have taken place,
10:53 the most glaring of which was actually around Charlotte's hand.
10:57 There is a piece of fabric from her sweater that just disappears into thin air,
11:03 and there's also a kind of slight disjoint between where her hand meets her wrist.
11:08 And then add to that all the other things that people have spotted since the image was first called into question,
11:15 and the royal family has a real issue on its hands.
11:18 Soon after, Kate issued an apology, explaining the editing and acknowledging the questions it sparked.
11:23 She wrote on Instagram, "Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing.
11:28 I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused.
11:33 I hope everyone celebrating had a very happy Mother's Day."
11:36 In the wake of the photo controversy, William is continuing on with his royal duties as usual.
11:41 He attended the annual Commonwealth service on March 11th alongside other members of the royal family,
11:45 including Queen Camilla, Prince Edward, Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, and Princess Anne.
11:50 However, speculation surrounding the photo has not yet died down.
11:53 Charlie Langston told Access Hollywood how discussion about the picture has taken the internet by storm
11:57 and only fueled rumors about Kate.
11:59 Social media has absolutely exploded with speculation after these inconsistencies were called into question.
12:07 Now, any royal image always faces a fair amount of scrutiny, but this one was a particularly significant photo
12:15 because it came after weeks of scrutiny and conspiracy theories about Kate's health, about her whereabouts,
12:22 you know, about what procedure she'd undergone.
12:25 We've had weeks of people suggesting that she's in a coma, that she's died,
12:29 that she's undergone a full body plastic surgery makeover.
12:33 This image was meant to be evidence that none of that was true.
12:38 And unfortunately, it's only made matters worse.
12:42 So you've now got people suggesting that the image was faked, that it was created using AI,
12:47 that it's actually an old image that had been doctored in a desperate attempt to prove that Kate was well and healthy when she isn't.
12:54 Now, personally, I don't believe any of these conspiracy theories to be true,
12:58 but there is no question that this is a huge public relations issue for Kate, for William, and for the royal family as a whole.
13:06 You know, one of the things that has been fueling these conspiracy theories is a lack of information shared with the public.
13:13 Now, it's a difficult situation to manage because typically the royal family is very buttoned up
13:20 when it comes to the personal health issues that its members are struggling with.
13:25 When you look at how they have shared details about King Charles' cancer battle,
13:30 Princess Kate's abdominal surgery, that for the royal family is incredibly open.
13:37 To them, they're basically presenting you with these people's diaries and allowing you to read them.
13:42 But obviously, in an age of social media, of constant updates, of daily vlogs from celebrities,
13:48 that's not enough for the public and for the people who really love watching the royal family
13:54 and who are used to seeing Charles and Kate out and about each and every day.
13:58 So this image really should have been a kind of, you know, seal of approval.
14:04 Yes, she's fine. Yes, she's OK.
14:07 But instead, it's raised even more questions about the truth of Kate's condition and her current state of health.
14:15 And I think another issue is then presented in the fact that the palace is refusing to release the original version.
14:21 So once again, you just have more questions than you do answers.
14:25 And typically, when people don't get given information, they conjure it up themselves.
14:30 [MUSIC]