Kate Middleton

[Heartstrings]

24 minutes ago, Scarlett said:

The thing that has my interest is the ambulance that  came on Dec 28, to where KM and William were celebrating  Christmas. The ambulance and other vehicles proceeded to the hospital.  

That was interesting. None of this would be as interesting if they weren’t so determined to keep it all secret!  Secrecy creates interest.  

[Kassia]

23 hours ago, Starr said:

I’m seeing memes of them lifted from the photo and floating in air or in different backgrounds. I’m sure this is not their plan. But have some fun until it blows over. 

I thought this one was funny - with the quote:  If you’re gonna use photoshop, at least do it properly and put some CATS in the shot!

[Deleted by moderator: Celebrity pics are against board rules]

[Pawz4me]

34 minutes ago, Heartstrings said:

That was interesting. None of this would be as interesting if they weren’t so determined to keep it all secret!  Secrecy creates interest.  

Yes. I'm one of those people who usually pays no attention at all to the royal family. I've got much more interesting things to do, like watching the grass grow (yes, generally that's really more interesting to me than celebs of any sort). But even my curiosity has been piqued by the secrecy.

Edited March 13 by Pawz4me

[kbutton]

Random disjointed thoughts.

I don’t think secrecy and privacy are the same.

I think it’s odd that people assign so much weight to health issues when we have so many chronically ill people in the world. It’s just a reality. We should be able to accept differing levels of need and ability to meet public expectations while being in need.

If it were for a badly broken leg from skiing, I suspect people would still be speculating just because of who she is.

[Faith-manor]

I really don't normally give a crap about what the Royal family is up to. This got on my radar over my interest in what AI and manipulated photos released to social media is doing to some people's lives. It is very disturbing.

[Pam in CT]

8 minutes ago, kbutton said:

... I don’t think secrecy and privacy are the same.

... We should be able to accept differing levels of need and ability to meet public expectations while being in need.

If it were for a badly broken leg from skiing, I suspect people would still be speculating just because of who she is.

I mean, whatever we think about The Monarchy Writ Large, both Diana and Meghan said quite clearly that the relentless scrutiny and utter lack of privacy drove them into serious mental health issues.

People suffering physical OR mental health issues deserve privacy.

There is no obligation to satisfy public curiosity prurience. Morally, that just isn't a thing.

[gardenmom5]

 Last week?  Before the photoshopped pic.  There was a picture of her through a car window while she was doing the school run with her mom driving.  Her face was round and puffy - some people were making some really snotty comments.  She's probably on steriods due to whatever her medical condition is, and it blew up her face.  That could explain why her face is photoshopped in the released picture.  She's always been so thin and fit.

I wish people would leave her alone and allow her to recover.  She has put a lot of focus into bringing attention to areas that concern women and children, always making those she's trying to help feel important.

I do like the cat picture - and the head dancing one was fun too.  At least some people are being good natured about it.

[prairiewindmomma]

I think two things are true:

1. She has the right to claim privacy about medical matters and to take an absence to recover fully from whatever serious medical thing seems to have happened. 

2. If she was willing to be photographed, how much better would it have been if she had just released a 30 second video instead. "Hi, thank you for your concern about my well being. I'm making progress in my recovery, I still plan to be back in just a few more weeks."

[Pawz4me]

And more things can be simultaneously true:

• She has a right to privacy
• She had to know when she married so high into the royal family that she was going to be in the spotlight
• There's nothing wrong with people being curious about what's going on

 

[kbutton]

2 minutes ago, Pawz4me said:

And more things can be simultaneously true:

• She has a right to privacy
• She had to know when she married so high into the royal family that she was going to be in the spotlight
• There's nothing wrong with people being curious about what's going on

 

For sure; I feel like secrecy/privacy are being used sometimes as synonymous concepts. They are related but not interchangeable in all situations.

[footballmom]

This article has a timeline that I thought was interesting, I am not vouching for the site as a reputable news source, but my linear brain liked the timeline format: https://www.niemanlab.org/2024/03/this-is-just-weird-buzzfeed-news-former-royals-reporter-on-kate-middleton-palace-press-and-distrust-in-the-media/

[Alicia64]

Just a thought, but Kate might have something serious and w/ King Charlesl's cancer and Harry and his shenanigans, maybe the family doesn't want to look like they're falling apart.

Edited March 13 by Alicia64

[Terabith]

[Ausmumof3]

58 minutes ago, Alicia64 said:

Just a thought, but Kate might have something serious and w/ King Charlesl's cancer and Harry and his shenanigans, maybe the family doesn't want to look like they're falling apart.

Yes. I don’t buy into the more out there conspiracy theories but I think if she’s more seriously ill than let on they would probably try to avoid showing that right now. 

[Grace Hopper]

27 minutes ago, Ausmumof3 said:

Yes. I don’t buy into the more out there conspiracy theories but I think if she’s more seriously ill than let on they would probably try to avoid showing that right now. 

She’s likely got a colostomy bag from a bowel resection. Perfectly reasonable to not want to be seen or photographed since her typically impeccable fashion is heavily scrutinized. 
 

They said from the outset she’d be out until at least Easter. It’s not Easter yet. 
 

IMO their big faux pas was releasing a poorly photoshopped picture. There may be a story behind that, but it’s most likely a simple PR failure. 
 

I think the royals have just sailed into a perfect storm. Charles reduces the number of working royals, Kate’s possible Crohn’s flares with an obstruction just before the King’s diagnosis, he’s out and then Camilla is too tired to make any appearances, leaving William and Anne to handle royal obligations and family care. The untimely deaths compound the stress. 
 

I have had seasons of life when everything seems to pile on at once. There’s not usually a foul plot underlying events, they just happen to fall at the same time. Personally I think that’s mostly what’s happening with the royals. It’s sad they can’t take time to recover without people assuming and broadcasting worst case to outrageous scenarios. 

[gardenmom5]

42 minutes ago, Grace Hopper said:

 

 

I think the royals have just sailed into a perfect storm. Charles reduces the number of working royals, Kate’s possible Crohn’s flares with an obstruction just before the King’s diagnosis, he’s out and then Camilla is too tired to make any appearances, leaving William and Anne to handle royal obligations and family care. The untimely deaths compound the stress. 

 

Edward and Sophie also are making appearances.   There's been talk of bringing in Zara and Mike Tindall  - they are well liked (and both professional sportsmen, even if not doing so right now.  and they are the same age as William and Catherine. ) I think they'd be great.

The Godfather - the memorial service William missed, actually died last year.  This was a "one year" memorial.  
But his cousin's husband's body would have been found about the time he said "something came up, can't come."

[Scarlett]

I know it isn’t Easter yet but she doesn’t have to attend an official event to show proof of life. 
 

Hopefully she is fine. But something seems off to me. 

[Katy]

This has blown up.  So many people I know who've never posted anything about the Royal family before have posted things on Facebook about it.

• The most conservative Christian I know posted a meme with a guy holding a sign that says, "Kate Middleton... R U OK?"
• A cousin's theory is that she's in hiding because she's on the Masked Singer.
• An old friend said she thinks Kate had  had enough of Will and took off with the kids, and the palace doesn't know what to do.
• A super liberal guy who likes to joke about QAnon said that King Charles was using the blood of his grandchildren to cure his cancer and prolong his life, and Kate objected so he had her killed.

[Scarlett]

6 minutes ago, Katy said:

This has blown up.  So many people I know who've never posted anything about the Royal family before have posted things on Facebook about it.

• The most conservative Christian I know posted a meme with a guy holding a sign that says, "Kate Middleton... R U OK?"
• A cousin's theory is that she's in hiding because she's on the Masked Singer.
• An old friend said she thinks Kate had  had enough of Will and took off with the kids, and the palace doesn't know what to do.
• A super liberal guy who likes to joke about QAnon said that King Charles was using the blood of his grandchildren to cure his cancer and prolong his life, and Kate objected so he had her killed.

Yes it has blown way up.  Some theories are funny and some are outrageous……but something is weird about this whole deal.  I do believe something happened to Kate on  December 28th.  I don’t believe the ‘abdominal surgery’ was planned….beyond maybe an hour……Kate and William had announced a trip to Italy and had many other obligations that one or both of them have had to cancel. 

William has been seen acting very strange at at least one event….swaying on his feet and seeming a bit out of his mind. 
 

The article about Rose Hanbury is very odd timing……

I don’t believe the theory that William  asked for a divorce and caused a crisis…I don’t think he would do that at this point….but it is possible she discovered the affair is still on with Rose and a crisis did ensue.  
Really who knows?   But something is off here. With the suicide of that one guy, and William cancelling his appearance at the Memorial service of his Godfather……

And did anyone see the bruise on Williams neck?  Is that real?  

[Katy]

4 minutes ago, Scarlett said:

And did anyone see the bruise on Williams neck?  Is that real?  

The bruises were real.  And I agree with you about everything else.

[TravelingChris]

9 hours ago, kbutton said:

Random disjointed thoughts.

I don’t think secrecy and privacy are the same.

I think it’s odd that people assign so much weight to health issues when we have so many chronically ill people in the world. It’s just a reality. We should be able to accept differing levels of need and ability to meet public expectations while being in need.

If it were for a badly broken leg from skiing, I suspect people would still be speculating just because of who she is.

I answered a query from a journalist I follow about why am I curious about the photo- I answered that I wish that both the royals (Kate and King Charles} and politicians and political figures. mentioning Def. Sec. Lloyd Austin, would be more open about their issues.  I think it goes a long way to helping humanity get better health.  In the case of the DefSec, he didn't even tell the President, or his sub that he wasat Walter Reed Army Hospital for a number of days.  It turns out that he has prostate cancer----which he didn't revel for some time.  Prostate cancer is quite common but unfortunately, it is much worse outcomes in blacks and being that the Decsef is black, he could have done more by being open sooner and the news could have gone into how all men should be checked, PSA levels, etc,   It is the main reason I as so open about my disease- to inform people, to help others, to make what is wrong with me actually turn into more of a positive.

[mommyoffive]

6 minutes ago, Katy said:

The bruises were real.  And I agree with you about everything else.

Do you have an article about that???

[Scarlett]

I can’t remember when I made this mental switch but at some point I decided I would have nothing to hide.  I will not be paralyzed with fear that someone may discover some unflattering or shameful thing about me.  Turns out not much can be kept secret in this day and age especially .  I may choose not to discuss details…..but sure the facts of my life are pout there.  The good the bad the ugly.  
 

I do try and respect not everyone feels that way.  

[Katy]

2 minutes ago, mommyoffive said:

Do you have an article about that???

No, sorry, not off the top of my head. That was so many days ago at this point I don't remember.

[Scarlett]

14 minutes ago, mommyoffive said:

Do you have an article about that???

I know I am not @Katy but I did see a TT video where there was definitely something on his neck.  Honestly it looked like it could have been hickies even…..which is just so, so hard to believe.  

Edited March 14 by Scarlett

[Scarlett]

9 minutes ago, mommyoffive said:

Do you have an article about that???

Here is a TT video you can see the bruise and black eye. 

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTLNRACRS/

[DawnM]

Y'all have me going down rabbit holes!   Wow, I am reading every conspiracy theory and why they believe it.   I would do this if she weren't royalty.   These things can get me going down dark places!

1. Kate was pregnant by that guy who was found dead after they had an affair (and the Royals offed him)

2. William is having an affair with Kate's previous BFF and Kate had a nervous breakdown

3. The Royals are tired of her and offed her

4. She is in CA to get away from the royals

5. Domestic Violence got out of hand

And on and on it goes.....

YIKES!

Edited March 14 by DawnM

[Scarlett]

2 hours ago, DawnM said:

Y'all have me going down rabbit holes!   Wow, I am reading every conspiracy theory and why they believe it.   I would do this if she weren't royalty.   These things can get me going down dark places!

1. Kate was pregnant by that guy who was found dead after they had an affair (and the Royals offed him)

2. William is having an affair with Kate's previous BFF and Kate had a nervous breakdown

3. The Royals are tired of her and offed her

4. She is in CA to get away from the royals

5. Domestic Violence got out of hand

And on and on it goes.....

YIKES!

I guess there have been rumblings of William having a violent temper. I don’t think I had heard that.  Maybe it was in Harry’s book which I did not read.  
 

I think it is most likely she had a mental break because of his affair. 

[BeachGal]

Most likely she is dealing with a serious health issue — there was an ambulance that left where she was staying December 28 — and needs time to heal. If she had surgery on her colon, she could have a colostomy (not necessarily permanent) and may be having multiple surgeries in this time period. She could also be taking steroids that cause her to swell up everywhere, especially her face, and doesn’t want to put out recent photos.

She also does not always wear her wedding ring if you look at other photos.

The bruise on William’s neck could also be a shadow. The teetering could be that he was exhausted. I do that myself when I’m sleep deprived.

Whatever it is, I hope she heals up well.

[alisoncooks]

There are also some conspiracies that are tying this to Thomas Kingston’s recent death. 

It all could be perfectly reasonable and explainable, but the longer they are silent with the media, the crazier the rumors will get. 

[DawnM]

1 hour ago, BeachGal said:

Most likely she is dealing with a serious health issue — there was an ambulance that left where she was staying December 28 — and needs time to heal. If she had surgery on her colon, she could have a colostomy (not necessarily permanent) and may be having multiple surgeries in this time period. She could also be taking steroids that cause her to swell up everywhere, especially her face, and doesn’t want to put out recent photos.

She also does not always wear her wedding ring if you look at other photos.

The bruise on William’s neck could also be a shadow. The teetering could be that he was exhausted. I do that myself when I’m sleep deprived.

Whatever it is, I hope she heals up well.

Interestingly they said she had a scheduled surgery, so it doesn't make sense that the ambulance had to come.

Honestly, I am not buying it because it doesn't add up.   They have announced the king's cancer, so it isn't like they need to hide things like an illness.

[BeachGal]

2 hours ago, DawnM said:

Interestingly they said she had a scheduled surgery, so it doesn't make sense that the ambulance had to come.

Honestly, I am not buying it because it doesn't add up.   They have announced the king's cancer, so it isn't like they need to hide things like an illness.

I imagine their PR people have the ability to not disclose all of the details for whatever reasons. There was supposedly a siting of an ambulance leaving Sandringham December 28. If she was in an acute state, that could have been her and then her medical team might have decided to stabilize her condition or do certain procedures and later scheduled the surgery. My sister went through something similar, although she’s not royal. 😉

Maybe they are allowing Catherine to share what she wants to share. Getting a colostomy, even a temporary one, can be very jarring for anyone. Most people don’t want to divulge that to the world, at least initially. Why should she? A friend of mine was put on steroids after a botched cancer surgery which led to a very fast weight gain and dramatically changed how she looked. I could see both as reasons for the lack of details at this point.

Maybe she just needs a break. Who knows? They’re saying she’ll be back around Easter which is not too far away.

[Heartstrings]

14 hours ago, Scarlett said:

Here is a TT video you can see the bruise and black eye. 

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTLNRACRS/

That’s an odd place for bruises from a fight or from hickies.   

[Faith-manor]

37 minutes ago, Heartstrings said:

That’s an odd place for bruises from a fight or from hickies.   

Reminds me of some of the "dad wrestles with 3 little sons and pays the price" bruises that Mark used to get when tackled by flying arms and legs.

Being the father of 3 young kids, I could easily see there being a very innocent reason for these. He strikes me as the type of dad who, like his mom, tries to be as involved of a parent as he can manage under his circumstances.

[Annie G]

I wonder if the Dec 28 ambulance trip was Kate having a medical issue related to, say, crohns. And once they got that crisis handled they scheduled surgery for mid January.  That’s almost exactly what happened to our son in law.  Took him several months to recover. And  before surgery he was losing weight like crazy and people thought he had an eating disorder, which he doesn’t. 
 

So that’s what I’m going with, though I do wish it was something less serious like Kate is growing out bangs. 
 

The decades long policy of ‘don’t complain, don’t explain’ only works if you stick to both parts. Releasing a doctored image and trying to pass it off as a recent photo only hurt the situation. 

[gardenmom5]

1 hour ago, BeachGal said:

I imagine their PR people have the ability to not disclose all of the details for whatever reasons. There was supposedly a siting of an ambulance leaving Sandringham December 28. If she was in an acute state, that could have been her and then her medical team might have decided to stabilize her condition or do certain procedures and later scheduled the surgery. My sister went through something similar, although she’s not royal. 😉

Maybe they are allowing Catherine to share what she wants to share. Getting a colostomy, even a temporary one, can be very jarring for anyone. Most people don’t want to divulge that to the world, at least initially. Why should she? A friend of mine was put on steroids after a botched cancer surgery which led to a very fast weight gain and dramatically changed how she looked. I could see both as reasons for the lack of details at this point.

Maybe she just needs a break. Who knows? They’re saying she’ll be back around Easter which is not too far away.

That could also explain why her face was photoshopped.  The picture of her in the car with her mother, showed a rounder face than normal.

She's always been thin, and she's always under scrutiny for her looks and dress.  I can see her wanting a break from that, both from steroids blowing up her face, and if she had to have a temporary colostomy.

[Ausmumof3]

6 hours ago, DawnM said:

Interestingly they said she had a scheduled surgery, so it doesn't make sense that the ambulance had to come.

Honestly, I am not buying it because it doesn't add up.   They have announced the king's cancer, so it isn't like they need to hide things like an illness.

Could it be something like a cyst that she was scheduled to have dealt with but then it burst unexpectedly?

[Katy]

54 minutes ago, Ausmumof3 said:

Could it be something like a cyst that she was scheduled to have dealt with but then it burst unexpectedly?

Unlikely. She’s been visibly quite thin, mosts cysts that are small wouldn’t require surgery unless it caused something like ovarian torsion or was cancerous. Source: worked in nursing on a GYN floor and have personally needed medical attention for a couple large ovarian cysts, several of which ruptured. 

If it is gynecological the way the Spanish press says, an ectopic pregnancy is more likely. But even that wouldn’t require such a long recovery time, and a miscarriage would be an acceptable reason to take time off and be grieving. 

Chron’s is much more likely. 

Edited March 14 by Katy

[Murphy101]

18 hours ago, Scarlett said:

Here is a TT video you can see the bruise and black eye. 

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTLNRACRS/

It just shows a shadowy looking area on his upper jaw. Could be bruise. Could be shadow. 🤷‍♀️

I have a hard time believing he’d go out with an obvious black eye and bruise. I mean. These people have money and means to get makeup to cover that? But then again. The weird photo shop doesn’t make sense either. 

[Murphy101]

7 hours ago, DawnM said:

Interestingly they said she had a scheduled surgery, so it doesn't make sense that the ambulance had to come.

Honestly, I am not buying it because it doesn't add up.   They have announced the king's cancer, so it isn't like they need to hide things like an illness.

It’s possible they scheduled something they thought they had time to address and then things worsen and the surgery couldn’t wait. It happens. Frequently actually. 

Edited March 14 by Murphy101

[Murphy101]

8 hours ago, alisoncooks said:

There are also some conspiracies that are tying this to Thomas Kingston’s recent death. 

It all could be perfectly reasonable and explainable, but the longer they are silent with the media, the crazier the rumors will get. 

Meh. Make no mistake people were pretty good at getting crazier without any excuses long before this. 

[TravelingChris]

8 hours ago, DawnM said:

Interestingly they said she had a scheduled surgery, so it doesn't make sense that the ambulance had to come.

Honestly, I am not buying it because it doesn't add up.   They have announced the king's cancer, so it isn't like they need to hide things like an illness.

The ambulance was Dec 28th and thd surgery wax mid Jan supposedly.  That could mean it was both emerged and planned.

[Scarlett]

Except earlier in the day of Dec 28 Kate and William announced a trip to Italy. Later that evening about 6:30 the ambulance came to their residence. 
the Italy trip as well as other engagements were then cancelled. So not planned. 

[Scarlett]

And I have a theory that KM did give that photo to her PR people to release and she photoshopped it badly intentionally. 

[freesia]

17 minutes ago, Scarlett said:

Except earlier in the day of Dec 28 Kate and William announced a trip to Italy. Later that evening about 6:30 the ambulance came to their residence. 
the Italy trip as well as other engagements were then cancelled. So not planned. 

The 28th would have been the emergency. As someone upthread said—at that point they stabilized her and planned the mid-January surgery. So it was planned, but after the emergency. 

[Murphy101]

10 minutes ago, Scarlett said:

And I have a theory that KM did give that photo to her PR people to release and she photoshopped it badly intentionally. 

To what purpose? Is there a hidden message we need to decipher?

I think it’s more likely it was something she was working on and hadn’t finished and someone else used it without paying much attention to details.

idk. That’s what I know. Idk. 🤷‍♀️ 

I think it’s all weird.  I think it’s sad if she's been having to fake that the family her and William have made together is built on sand instead of solid ground.  Or that the family is fine but she very much isn’t. Or maybe worse. That she really did believe they were solid and had her world turned upside down when she found out it wasn’t.

But really that’s also unfortunately normal life too. Being Royal and wealthy and beautiful doesn’t protect from that happening. If anything it makes it more likely. 

[Scarlett]

30 minutes ago, Murphy101 said:

To what purpose? Is there a hidden message we need to decipher?

I think it’s more likely it was something she was working on and hadn’t finished and someone else used it without paying much attention to details.

idk. That’s what I know. Idk. 🤷‍♀️ 

I think it’s all weird.  I think it’s sad if she's been having to fake that the family her and William have made together is built on sand instead of solid ground.  Or that the family is fine but she very much isn’t. Or maybe worse. That she really did believe they were solid and had her world turned upside down when she found out it wasn’t.

But really that’s also unfortunately normal life too. Being Royal and wealthy and beautiful doesn’t protect from that happening. If anything it makes it more likely. 

I think if she is having a crisis because of her marriage it is very possible she is messing with the Firm.  
 

She is not an amateur photographer. She wrote her thesis on photography. I think. Don’t quote me on that but I did hear that.

[Scarlett]

38 minutes ago, freesia said:

The 28th would have been the emergency. As someone upthread said—at that point they stabilized her and planned the mid-January surgery. So it was planned, but after the emergency. 

Possible. 

[Grace Hopper]

58 minutes ago, Scarlett said:

Except earlier in the day of Dec 28 Kate and William announced a trip to Italy. Later that evening about 6:30 the ambulance came to their residence. 
the Italy trip as well as other engagements were then cancelled. So not planned. 

I believe it’s a both-and. 

39 minutes ago, freesia said:

The 28th would have been the emergency. As someone upthread said—at that point they stabilized her and planned the mid-January surgery. So it was planned, but after the emergency. 

It’s possible it was called “planned” because she’s had intestinal narrowing (strictures, I believe that’s called), they knew it would be needed at some point, but as long as she was not in an emergent situation, they were putting it off. Perhaps it was planned for mid-January anyway.
 

The emergency seems legit on December 28. If her surgery were unplanned, it would have occurred on the 28-29th. 
 

Crohn’s can flare suddenly. One meal can be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. It’s totally possible to have been feeling good and planning travel at noon only to end up in the ER after dinner. 

[KSera]

1 hour ago, Scarlett said:

And I have a theory that KM did give that photo to her PR people to release and she photoshopped it badly intentionally. 

I know nothing about all these conspiracy theory things, but I continue to be puzzled why such an enormous deal is being made about the photoshopping itself. There were minor mistakes, but they take blowing the picture up to see and weren't noticed until people started scrutinizing the picture due to the aforementioned conspiracy theories. These kinds of errors get made when editing all the time. I realize she's part of the royal family and blah blah blah so she's not supposed to make the same kind of mistakes other people do, but I just don't see the photo itself as any kind of evidence of anything at all. I feel badly she had to come out and apologize for her poor edit.

 

From ABC News today:

Quote

Most royal experts and visual verification experts alike seem to agree that the editing in Kate's Mother's Day photo seems minor, likely nothing more than an effort by a mom to make herself and her kids look as good as possible.

Hany Farid, a computer science professor at the University of California, Berkeley, told ABC News earlier this week that his analysis of the photo shows "minor manipulation," and no evidence it is an AI-generated photo.

"I think most likely it is either some bad photoshop to, for example, remove a stain on the sweater, or is the result of on-camera photo compositing that combines multiple photos together to get a photo where everyone is smiling," Farid said. "Either way, I think it is unlikely that this is anything more than a relatively minor photo manipulation."

Kate Middleton photo controversy: New details show when the photo was edited