Kate Middleton’s ‘edited’ claim hasn’t quelled rumours about her well-being or her whereabouts.
Kate Middleton’s disappearance from the public glare has spooked a lot of normies, far beyond those who live and breathe Royal gossip. The mystery only deepened after the Princess of Wales’ Mother’s Day image was rejected by several news outlets for being manipulated.
A tweet from the official Prince and Princess of Wales X account, ostensibly signed by the Princess of Wales, hardly quelled rumours.
However, some believe that things are murkier than they seem. A source told the New York Post: “Something is terribly wrong. The idea that Kate could not sit for one photo session tells me this is a much more dire situation than anyone knows.”
Amid the rumours, Middleton was spotted leaving Windsor Castle alongside Prince William on Monday, but her face wasn’t visible in the picture. Earlier, a statement from the Royal Family stated: “Based on the current medical advice, she is unlikely to return to public duties until after Easter.”
But where is the Princess of Wales? According to some media reports, she’s holed up at Anmer Hall, a 19th-century country house in a quaint village of the same name that also doubles up as a retreat for the Firm. Anmer Hall, for the uninitiated, was a wedding gift from the late Queen Elizabeth II to the Prince and Princess of Wales.
What you ought to know about Anmer Hall
Anmer Hall has 10 bedrooms, swimming pools and a private tennis court and is a favoured gateway for the Prince and Princess and their three children. After the Queen gifted the house to them, the venue was redecorated with a new roof, a kitchen and a conservatory. Between 2015 and 2017, Anmer Hall served as the couple’s main residence.
However, when the couple took up their full-time royal roles, they moved back to Kensington Palace. Interestingly, Sandringham House is very cheek-by-jowl to Sandringham House, where the Royal Family gathers for Christmas festivities.
Social media reactions
Social media has been rife with jokes and conspiracy theories about Kate’s whereabouts. It only increased after claims that Kate had ‘edited’ the picture.
One user piped in: “If I was a Princess and I had to do my own photoshops I’d be fuming. Like they’re spending how much on Andrew’s lawyers and I’m hunched over an overheating laptop blurring layers on Adobe Photoshop are you kidding me.”
A history afficianado wrote: “The Princess of Wales is missing and the spare Prince is in exile and the King is treating his cancer with herbs. If this were the 1300s France would be looking to invade.”
Another wrote: “Are we seriously supposed to believe that kate middleton has Adobe Creative Cloud subscription?”
Kate, who has been on official leave as she recovers from an abdominal surgery in January, has not been seen in public for weeks which had led to some social media speculation over her recovery.
Kensington Palace, the office for the Prince and Princess of Wales, have repeatedly said that she is doing well and that health matters are private.
The release of the photograph was intended to allay fears of any serious health concerns, but it triggered its own set of speculation and conspiracy theories instead.
AFP said it had “come to light” that the image of the “Princess of Wales and her kids had been altered” and was therefore removed from its systems.
An AP statement read: “The Associated Press initially published the photo, which was issued by Kensington Palace
“The AP later retracted the image because at closer inspection, it appears that the source had manipulated the image in a way that did not meet AP’s photo standards. The photo shows an inconsistency in the alignment of Princess Charlotte’s left hand.”
Reuters said it withdrew the picture following a “post-publication review” with a spokesperson saying the agency is “reviewing the matter”.
Royal experts indicated that editing photographs after they have been taken for professional purposes is a common practice. Therefore, it was believed Kensington Palace may have only been trying to improve the photograph if it was indeed altered.
Meanwhile, it is unlikely to quell social media rumours over the health of the Princess of Wales as details of her medical condition have not been released by the palace except to say it is not cancer-related.
