Hey friends and happy Thursday!
We’re merrily rolling along through this pregnancy — 22 weeks already! Wow!
Yesterday, I published a YouTube video: My Favorite Pregnancy Meals – so please check that out and give it a like, if you have a spare moment!
OK — we need to talk about something that has been occupying my thoughts for the last 48 hours: there whereabouts of Kate Middleton.
Otherwise known as #KateGate – the world is in an acute tailspin asking: Where is Kate Middleton?
If this is the first time you’re hearing about this, I will break it down with a cohesive timeline. But basically, she hasn’t been seen publicly since Christmas, with the Palace explaining that she had “planned abdominal surgery.” The PR nightmare began after the Royals released two highly doctored photos of her this week to quell rumors…which have only added fuel to the firestorm of conspiracy theories that she could be in a coma, or having a mental breakdown after discovering marital infidelity, or that she and William could be on the brink of divorce, or that she’s may have gone to live beyond the “Ice Wall” in Antarctica.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. And before we dive in — I was very hesitant to write this post, because I don’t want to gossip. That is not a Christian thing to do, and so I want to just present the facts of this situation that literally has the entire world putting on their Carmen Sandiego hats.
Here’s what we know:
Dec 25: Kate Middleton’s last public appearance
She was attending church with William and her three children — looking in good health.
A few days later:
A police-escorted ambulance was spotted leaving the place where William and Kate were staying for Christmas in the middle of the night.
Jan 16: Kate’s “Planned Abdominal Surgery”
In a surprise announcement, Kate undergoes “planned abdominal surgery” in a private London hospital. She would stay in the hospital to recover for two weeks. No further details were shared by the Palace other than the fact that she is said to return to royal duties after Easter.
Jan 17: King Charles’ Medical Announcement
The following day, the Palace announces King Charles will undergo a medical exam for an “enlarged prostate.” The distinct difference between the Palace’s openness about King Charles’ health and their “hush-hush-ness” about Kate’s sparks rumors and conspiracy theories…everything from growing out terrible bangs, to getting a hysterectomy, to getting a “mommy makeover.”
Jan 28: Source claims Kate is in a Coma — and then doubles down
Concha Calleja — a Spanish news anchor — shocks the world by claiming on air that Kate was in an “induced coma.” The palace absolutely shut Calleja’s statement down as ludicrous and false, but Callja went on to double down that he was speaking the truth.
Jan 29: Kate discharged from hospital
And returned to Windsor to continue her recovery. At this point, rumors are absolutely in a tizzy.
Feb 6. King Charles’ Cancer announcement
Feb 29: Palace Doubles Down Amid Rumors
During the month of February, the internet wildly speculates about Kate’s whereabouts. Theories ranging from Kate being in Brazil getting a “Brazilian Butt Lift” plastic surgery, or that she’s a contestant on the Masked Singer, or that she’s growing out terrible bangs, or that she got a “Mommy Makeover” tummy-tuck/boob-job surgery. Some palace watchers even went to far as to question whether or not she was actually alive. In response, the Palace issues this statement: “Kensington Palace made it clear in January the timelines of the Princess’ recovery and we’d only be providing significant updates. That guidance stands.” Sounds to me like they were fed up with the ridiculous rumor mill, and had contacted their PR Crisis Management team…which leads to…
March 4: First Paparazzi pic of “Kate” emerges
A photo of — what appears to be Kate — in the passenger seat of her mother’s car emerges, driving through Windsor. However, the grainy and dark picture made many palace watchers question if it really IS Kate, (or a body-double or her sister, Pippa) as this brunette woman was in oversized sunglasses with her neck covered.
March 6: Kate’s Uncle Makes Cryptic Remark
Kate’s uncle, Gary Goldsmith, who is currently on Celebrity Big Brother, was asked on air by a fellow contestant, “Where’s Kate?” To which, he answered that he “doesn’t want to talk about that…there’s a kind of code of etiquette…If it’s announced, I’ll give you an opinion.” Which stoked the conspiracy mill…what is the “IT” he’s referring to?!
March 10: Mother’s Day Photo Scandal
In response to the rampant rumors over the now-coined, “KateGate,” Kensington Palace posted a photo of Kate and her three kids on social media on Mother’s Day. In addition to Kate not wearing her wedding ring in the photo, there were multiple discrepancies in the photo, clearly indicating the the photo had been manipulated. Some eagle-eyed people, even went so far as to posit that the photo was completely created from scratch…as the image of Kate’s face is a near replica of her cover on Vogue, just over-imposed onto this “photo.”
Then, in an unprecedented move, four different photo agencies: AP, Reuters, PA and AFP, put out a “kill notice” on the Royals’ Mother’s Day photo…for its digital manipulation. Cue the press now beginning to turn on the Royals, with the director of Agence France-Presse — one of the world’s largest news agencies — telling BBC that Kensington Palace is no longer a “trusted source.” We will see this loss of trust come into play later.
March 11: Kate’s social media account apologizes; Another potentially bogus paparazzi image of Kate emerges
The Royals release a statement — appearing to be from Kate — taking responsibility for the altered image. “Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing. I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused…C [for Catherine aka Kate]” But many refused to believe that Kate herself wrote that.
Later that afternoon, the Royals release another faceless, dark and blurry photograph of “Kate”. The photo is of William and a brunette woman in the back of a car — she with her head turned away from the camera. Eagle-eyed readers also question the validity of this photo, noting that the bricks out the window do not match the bricks above the car.
March 12: Lady Rose Hanbury “Baby Mama” Rumor Emerges
Here’s where things start to really take off. Tuesday night, Stephen Colbert brings up an alleged affair that Prince William had with British socialite, model and neighbor Rose Hanbury. The couples (Kate and William and Rose and her husband) were fast friends in the 2010s, until a falling out, when rumors emerged in 2019 that William and Rose had an alleged affair.
The Palace, of course, denied the rumors, but now…thanks to a disgruntled press…the rumors have resurfaced. British tabloids, angry with the Palace for tarnishing their reputation with a doctored’s photo, are now running articles and spotlights to the tune of, “Who is Lady Rose Hanbury?”
Many Royal Watchers theorize that Kate learned — over Christmas — that Lady Hanbury is allegedly pregnant with William’s child, and Kate allegedly had a mental breakdown and is done cooperating with the Palace, refusing to do appearances or her Royal duties, hence why there was no ring in the Mother’s Day photo, why we’re getting fake images of the princess, and why she can’t even give the public a 3 minute Zoom call from their home saying she’s alive and well. — Because she’s done cooperating and wants out.
March 12: Prince William Attends Thomas Kingston’s Funeral
Who is Thomas Kingston? Kate’s sister: Pippa Middleton’s ex. And last week he was found deceased with a traumatic head injury, that was later declared to be “self-inflicted.” Many people are speculating that this all plays together. I think it’s a horribly-timed tragedy. But none-the-less, Prince William was in attendance — despite recently canceling a speaking obligation at his godfather’s funeral due to “personal matters.”
March 14: Helicopter lands at Buckingham Palace
And just to round things out, today, a mysterious helicopter lands at Buckingham Palace in London.
SO — what is going on? Where is Kate?
There are so many theories going on.
Don’t think it hasn’t crossed my mind that the Biden administration is capitalizing on this to keep his own mental decline out of the public discourse for a while. I’m only half-kidding.
I really don’t want to speculate on here, but rather just stick with facts, and say that whatever is going on with Kate, I pray that she is safe, healthy, and recovering successfully from her abdominal surgery. I want to believe the official palace statements, and so that’s what I’ll stick with going forward.
I pray that William and Kate’s marriage be sustained through all of this public scrutiny. And I just hope that they come through this as a family, stronger, and as one.
Let me know what you make of all of this. Are you following the saga? Were you aware that all of this was even happening? Let me know in the comments.
Until Monday!
13 responses to “#KateGate – Where is Kate Middleton?”
My first thought when I heard about surgery was ovarian cancer. Maybe because I use to work on a gynecology floor but that covers abdominal surgery and chemo is brutal. Although ovarian cancer is horrible, and I’d choose affair and divorce over that. We may never know.
I find it difficult to believe William would do to Catherine what Charles did to his mother, Diana.
This is just my opinion, the general public is not entitled to all the details of Catherine’s surgery. The only one entitled to anything is Catherine….to her privacy.
Like you said, prayers for her recovery and her and William’s family. family.
Maybe Kate has been secretly visiting Harry, it would not have gone down well with the family I suspect. She has always been fond of him.
kate is smart enough to realise the monarchy needs him. Harry was right to put his own family first in my view. I also think Meghan needed to return to the US for a while, I stand by my previous comments. Meghan like most new mothers needed her mum. you will probably find the same thing,
Having your mum by your side and supportive is just so vital.
I don’t know whether you have watched this on my blog but I reckon this sums things up perfectly!
https://youtu.be/lrEkNj8NKco?si=jzwyozOrwdfMUg-E
the Perfect Mother from SNL is the best description of motherhood I have ever seen. I had needed the Poison Information Centre on speed dial. the worst thing my daughter ever did was stick a bead up her nose and get stuck in the rabbit cage but with my son we were in casualty fairly regularly!
My son also nearly died of pneumonia and contracted whooping cough despite being fully vaccinated.
Like I said everyone needs their Mum at times like that,
I was terrified in hospital when my son had pooped all over himself and I had to strip him off and change everything in the middle of the night in the middle of Winter, I was so slow I was worried he would freeze and had rung for the nurse in 😢 tears.
The world and his wife tried to interfere with my breastfeeding.
I will always remember one lovely nurse who had calmed me down about potty training.
I was recovering from kidney issues at the time, She had told me to abandon potty training for the time being , telling me,
“Let’s put it this
way. he won’t be in nappies at his wedding!”
Little comments like that saved my life.
If I ever make a stupid comment through that sensitive time in your life, please pull me up.Stupid comnents at that vulnerable time can cause significant physical and mental harm to you and the 👶 baby,
My friend had a complete breakdown, She made a mistake and was verbally attacked by a woman.
Your priority must be to protect you and the baby.
Hmmm, this is a PR crisis that isn’t going to get better without more communication. As a retired PR director, I would counsel them to issue more statements and release a formal video before Easter. But as a Christ-follower, I would encourage them to seek marriage counsel from a godly, trusted pastor. Will and Kate need our prayers, encouragement to attend church more regularly, and parenting wisdom to bring up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. We commoners have no idea how much pressure they all are under daily to present a “picture perfect” image to the public, and carrying that weight would be unbearable for most of us. Let’s join hearts to lift up Will and Kate to Jesus, that He may pour His Holy Spirit into their hearts and situation.
Just saw the news about Kate’s cancer. As a cancer survivor myself, I can heartily identify with her reticence to come forward, especially as they needed time for consultation with physicians (I’m confident she’s getting topnotch care, probably from world specialists) and time for conversations with their children and family. This is a personal, private situation for a very public couple. They need our prayers more than ever, not only for healing but for their faith to become real and for the Lord to knit them together as a couple and parents. May God provide Kate with complete recovery and remission of the cancer, as He has indeed done for me. Please pray with me.
Perhaps, Harry’s rebellion is contagious?
Sadly, this is all gossip, and has gone beyond the realm of disgusting. Imagine for a moment you are Catherine, and have been diagnosed with something requiring major abdominal surgery. You’re worried about your children having to deal with worry about their mama being away to have this done, as well as you being unable to be there for them like you always have been. You’re worried about your husband having to shoulder more work both at work and at home. You’re worried about your recovery, your health, heck, even making it through the surgery because it all carries risk.
You’re dealing with all the above, then find out your beloved father-in-law has cancer. The stress of that adds to your entire family’s stress. You’re dealing with a protracted recovery because abdominal surgery is major, period.
Now, after thinking of all that, look at what the media and all of the other gossipy vultures are doing, saying, disgustingly speculating. How would *you* feel if you were in Catherine’s place?
I pray Catherine has a swift recovery, her family weathers this appalling display of horrific manners from the media and others, and I hope others would put themselves in someone else’s shoes before partaking in ripping them apart.
I think it was a big PR mistake to say that Kate was undergoing a “planned abdominal surgery” as this was clearly a lie. If it were “planned” they wouldn’t have had to suddenly cancel all her engagements; that would have been taken care of ahead of time.
Since she looked great at the end of December, clearly the issue is something that can develop very quickly and something they don’t want public. I’m wondering if she had an ectopic pregnancy or discovered she was pregnant and decided to have an abortion and a hysterectomy. Granted my medical knowledge is limited but that’s where my mind goes when I think of sudden things that modern medicine is fully equipped to handle yet need a decent amount of recovery time afterward.
I don’t think I buy the rumors that their marriage is breaking down; I do think it was medical but they don’t want to share what it was.
It’s all very odd, isn’t it? I’m glad I’m not famous and not a royal.
All media hype. I have no interest in any royal family. It’s an outmoded concept.
This has nothing to do with your blog purpose. Sadly, you helped spread gossip you said you wouldn’t do.
I usually love your blog posts, but this time, I confess, I was a little disappointed. With all the terrible things going on in the world ~ the war in Israel, the horrific slaughter of Israeli women and children by Hamas with hostages still being held, the rampant antisemitism in the world that’s so uncalled for, the call for a two-state solution (which wouldn’t work, by the way) by people who hate Israel ~ and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. All that and all you can talk about is “Where’s Kate Middleton???” Seriously?!
I think the world needs to leave Kate Middleton ALONE and stop hounding her and get off her back!!! It’s none of anyone’s business where she is or what she’s doing!!!
If you want to know what to do about Kate Middleton, then PRAY FOR HER!!! That’s ALL she needs from ANYONE!!! She needs people to PRAY for her, NOT gossip about her!!!
That’s all I have to say about the matter. So please forgive me for yelling at you, Caralyn. I’m praying for you and your baby and your pregnancy, that everything goes perfectly.