Kate Middleton

[Scarlett]

I am very happy to see that she seems fine. 

[Ausmumof3]

I have to be honest my first reaction to the video was it really doesn’t look like her face. However maybe if she has lost a lot of weight it is. The photo that was supposed to be of her the other day showed her with a really round face, so that’s a bit weird.

[Katy]

Just now, Ausmumof3 said:

I have to be honest my first reaction to the video was it really doesn’t look like her face. However maybe if she has lost a lot of weight it is. The photo that was supposed to be of her the other day showed her with a really round face, so that’s a bit weird.

I think that photo was Pippa, but it was perhaps old too, because Pippa was supposed to be out of the country that day.

[Scarlett]

She has lost a lot of weight it seems. That would be in line with some type of serious abdominal surgery. I will say she was moving very quickly!

[Grace Hopper]

5 hours ago, Catwoman said:

Despite all of the rumors to the contrary, Kate certainly looks happy and healthy in this new video: https://www.tmz.com/2024/03/18/kate-middleton-seen-new-video-windsor-farm-shop-prince-william/

 

4 hours ago, Ausmumof3 said:

I have to be honest my first reaction to the video was it really doesn’t look like her face. However maybe if she has lost a lot of weight it is. The photo that was supposed to be of her the other day showed her with a really round face, so that’s a bit weird.

Not sure that’s actually Kate. After she looks square into the camera, she turns her head forward and down and the profile does not look right. 
 

Folks on sm are saying that’s likely a gal named Heidi something [eta Heidi Agan] and her William-look-alike friend, who often mess with the paparazzi. 
 

Who really knows, though. I’m waiting for the Easter Bunny or a palace statement, whichever comes first. 

Edited March 19 by Grace Hopper

[Heartstrings]

2 hours ago, Scarlett said:

She has lost a lot of weight it seems. That would be in line with some type of serious abdominal surgery. I will say she was moving very quickly!

It has been 10ish weeks since the surgery if it was around New Years.  In the US she would have been back to full time work at least 8ish weeks ago and the surgery would have been long forgotten by now.  Taking a full 12 or more weeks to heal is really just a whole different universe from our experience here.  

[Scarlett]

9 minutes ago, Heartstrings said:

It has been 10ish weeks since the surgery if it was around New Years.  In the US she would have been back to full time work at least 8ish weeks ago and the surgery would have been long forgotten by now.  Taking a full 12 or more weeks to heal is really just a whole different universe from our experience here.  

Well, some things do take 6 weeks to recover from even in the US.

And I hate to keep sounding like a conspiracy theorist, but I don’t think that video looks like her.  🤷🏻‍♀️ 

[SHP]

2 hours ago, Scarlett said:

Well, some things do take 6 weeks to recover from even in the US.

And I hate to keep sounding like a conspiracy theorist, but I don’t think that video looks like her.  🤷🏻‍♀️ 

Recovery time doesn't mean that the person gets the full time off of work.

[Ausmumof3]

8 hours ago, Grace Hopper said:

 

Not sure that’s actually Kate. After she looks square into the camera, she turns her head forward and down and the profile does not look right. 
 

Folks on sm are saying that’s likely a gal named Heidi something [eta Heidi Agan] and her William-look-alike friend, who often mess with the paparazzi. 
 

Who really knows, though. I’m waiting for the Easter Bunny or a palace statement, whichever comes first. 

The chin is much pointier but it is a side-on distant video. I am not hugely into the royals so probably haven’t seen many pics of Kate not made up. She also doesn’t walk the same way, but again, I’ve only see video that’s on major news headlines etc where she’s at formal events so maybe it’s just every day Kate versus formal Kate. Hopefully come Easter there’s some kind of official thing because I’m pretty sure I’ve wasted enough time on it, and I want to go back to my usual royal ignoring self.

 

The bigger issue here to me is how much more difficult it is becoming to believe video, photos etc.

[alisoncooks]

I feel like they’d be surrounded by security, even if it were casual and relaxed. They don’t just run to the market by themselves, right? 

[Katy]

21 minutes ago, alisoncooks said:

I feel like they’d be surrounded by security, even if it were casual and relaxed. They don’t just run to the market by themselves, right? 

They definitely did shop before the queen died, but idk how things might have changed since. And there’s a video last summer of Charles going for a walk at Balmoral with no visible security, he stopped and talked to some mountain bikers there for several minutes. They did later say that he did have security, it simply wasn’t visible in the video they shared. 

I wish the “zoomed in” and “unblurred” video was done by someone named & credible because I no longer have any idea what to think. The unblurred video doesn’t look like her. 

I don’t think a changed gate is a sign either way because it’s quite normal for it to take many months for someone’s walk to return to normal after surgery. 

[Katy]

TMZ is standing behind the video: https://www.tmz.com/2024/03/19/kate-middleton-conspiracy-theorists-still-arent-convinced-recent-sighting-is-real/

[Laura Corin]

8 hours ago, Katy said:

They definitely did shop before the queen died, but idk how things might have changed since. And there’s a video last summer of Charles going for a walk at Balmoral with no visible security, he stopped and talked to some mountain bikers there for several minutes. They did later say that he did have security, it simply wasn’t visible in the video they shared. 

When Charles was Prince of Wales,  two friends of mine were hiking near Balmoral and met a military-seeming hiker on the path.  Two minutes behind him came Prince Charles and two minutes behind him another security professional.  So he was hiking 'alone' but boxed in by security.

[Scarlett]

It sure doesn’t really look like her to me…,..but at this point I am just over it.  I doubt seriously she is dead or in a coma or that she is giving King Charles a kidney……but I do think something is off about The whole thing.

[Katy]

[Katy]

[Deleted by moderator: No celebrity pics!]

[Katy]

Jokes aside, The London Clinic announcing they are investigating 3 employees for data breaches seems to me like confirmation that Jessica from House In Habit’s leaks re intestinal surgery & needing a bag are correct. 

[Scarlett]

47 minutes ago, Katy said:

Jokes aside, The London Clinic announcing they are investigating 3 employees for data breaches seems to me like confirmation that Jessica from House In Habit’s leaks re intestinal surgery & needing a bag are correct. 

Yes, this is terrible.   Medical privacy is such a joke.  
 

Honestly if I was her, I would never have tried to even keep it private.  But I am sure she was traumatized by the entire ordeal which appears to have required an ambulance ride on December 28.  

[alisoncooks]

[Harriet Vane]

3 hours ago, Katy said:

Jokes aside, The London Clinic announcing they are investigating 3 employees for data breaches seems to me like confirmation that Jessica from House In Habit’s leaks re intestinal surgery & needing a bag are correct. 

I hope the people responsible for the breach fry. We all deserve our dignity and that does include medical privacy. How dare they.

[Kassia]

7 minutes ago, Harriet Vane said:

I hope the people responsible for the breach fry. We all deserve our dignity and that does include medical privacy. How dare they.

QFT - every word

[Katy]

I thought memes were a clear exception to the celebrity pic rule because they’ve been enhanced and the original owner no longer has copyright?  

[Rosie_0801]

27 minutes ago, Katy said:

I thought memes were a clear exception to the celebrity pic rule because they’ve been enhanced and the original owner no longer has copyright?  

I have not been instructed that way.
I think Susan prefers to err on the side of caution, which is understandable.

[Katy]

2 minutes ago, Rosie_0801 said:

I have not been instructed that way.
I think Susan prefers to err on the side of caution, which is understandable.

Thanks for the clarification!

[Pawz4me]

Breaking news on CBS (they just interrupted the basketball game for a special report) -- Kate Middleton made a video statement announcing that she has cancer and is taking "preventative" chemotherapy. In the portion of the statement that CBS just aired no mention was made of what type of cancer.

[Kassia]

1 minute ago, Pawz4me said:

Breaking news on CBS (they just interrupted the basketball game for a special report) -- Kate Middleton made a video statement announcing that she has cancer and is taking "preventative" chemotherapy. In the portion of the statement that CBS just aired no mention was made of what type of cancer.

DH just saw the news in the NY post.  😞  

[Heartstrings]

11 minutes ago, Pawz4me said:

Breaking news on CBS (they just interrupted the basketball game for a special report) -- Kate Middleton made a video statement announcing that she has cancer and is taking "preventative" chemotherapy. In the portion of the statement that CBS just aired no mention was made of what type of cancer.

I just saw it live and raced over here!    

[Scarlett]

My mom texted me the link! I just watched it. 

[mommyoffive]

https://people.com/kate-middleton-cancer-undergoing-chemotherapy-personal-video-announcement-8613464?hid=e29223e5c3eddfd4a2c8c0f58b17511036c2d98c&did=12392548-20240322&utm_campaign=ppl-breakingnews_relationship-builder&utm_source=ppl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=032224&lctg=e29223e5c3eddfd4a2c8c0f58b17511036c2d98c

[Heartstrings]

So what does this do for the conspiracies?    Was it really her on the video, or her body double? Is this just a lie to cover up that she’s still in a coma?  Are the people appeased? 

Edited March 22 by Heartstrings

[Katy]

I’m glad she’s alive and being honest

[Grace Hopper]

Wow. That was not on my radar, I definitely wasn’t thinking cancer. 
 

God bless her. What an ordeal for this family. No wonder William appears stressed, a double whammy with both his father and wife getting simultaneous diagnoses.

 

 

 

[Katy]

Just now, Heartstrings said:

So what does this do for the conspiracies?    Was it really her on the video, or her body double? Is this just a lie to cover up that she’s in a coma?  Are the people appeased? 

I doubt it was her. Medically induced comas last days, not months, so that could have happened. I’m sure crazy people will remain crazy and everyone else will settle down. 

[catz]

I always thought the "coma" rumor was odd.  It isn't really that weird to be medically sedated and weaned slowly off a vent/meds after a major surgery.  

I really appreciate they chose to release information in her voice and hope that will shut up most people.  

[KungFuPanda]

Oh man, I just saw why she went underground.  That's rough.  I hope she sails through chemo has has an ideal recovery.  That's scary when you have small children.

[Katy]

21 minutes ago, catz said:

I always thought the "coma" rumor was odd.  It isn't really that weird to be medically sedated and weaned slowly off a vent/meds after a major surgery.  

I really appreciate they chose to release information in her voice and hope that will shut up most people.  

It was a video and was quite clearly her, even if pre-recorded and looking a bit thin & frail for someone so young. It’s all over YouTube and will likely be all over the news for the next several days. 
 

ETA: don’t watch if you don’t have time to cry. It’s extremely diplomatic and ends with her trying to encourage others fighting cancer. 

Edited March 22 by Katy

[KSera]

4 minutes ago, KungFuPanda said:

Oh man, I just saw why she went underground.  That's rough.  I hope she sails through chemo has has an ideal recovery.  That's scary when you have small children.

Yeah. Imagine finding out you have cancer while still having young children and having to deal with the public conducting all this nonsense that’s been going on. I’m sure there will still be people who say she has no right to complain because she married a prince and should have expected this to happen if she ever got cancer. 

[Corraleno]

I wonder if they were trying to avoid telling the children she had cancer, but the relentless obsession and speculation finally forced them to go public, and they had no choice but to tell them. So now the trauma that William and Harry endured due to the press's insane harassment of their mother is being visited upon the next generation.

I wonder if everyone who was obsessed with their right to know Kate's private medical information feels that traumatizing her children was a small price to pay for that?

[catz]

3 minutes ago, Corraleno said:

I wonder if they were trying to avoid telling the children she had cancer, but the relentless obsession and speculation finally forced them to go public, and they had no choice but to tell them. 

I  think this is a reach.  Most sources (child psychologists, social workers, etc) recommend talking to kids about anything healthwise going on at their level.  Back during my childhood when we were told nothing, we ALWAYS knew when stuff was going down with parents and grandparents and just swallowed the stress of it without being able to talk openly about it.  

It is understandable that it took awhile for surgical recovery and a plan to come to light, them to have time to process and share appropriately with their children and loved ones and get their bearings.  It sounds like she has a hopeful diagnosis and I wish them nothing but the best.  I'm sure she will have the best of care and follow up, which is more than plenty of us get. . 

[Katy]

14 minutes ago, Corraleno said:

I wonder if they were trying to avoid telling the children she had cancer, but the relentless obsession and speculation finally forced them to go public, and they had no choice but to tell them. So now the trauma that William and Harry endured due to the press's insane harassment of their mother is being visited upon the next generation.

I wonder if everyone who was obsessed with their right to know Kate's private medical information feels that traumatizing her children was a small price to pay for that?

I mean, call me cynical, but I bet they weren’t going to tell anyone, and she’s now had enough chemo to realize she will have visible side effects and needs to tell everyone. Some commentary I was listening to on YouTube in the last hour said they released it tonight bc it’s the kids last day of school for a two week Easter break. 

Edited March 22 by Katy

[freesia]

Yes, I read that they waited until the kids were on holiday. 

[TexasProud]

23 minutes ago, KSera said:

Yeah. Imagine finding out you have cancer while still having young children and having to deal with the public conducting all this nonsense that’s been going on. I’m sure there will still be people who say she has no right to complain because she married a prince and should have expected this to happen if she ever got cancer. 

Yep, that one poster earlier made me furious. SHE hasn't complained.  We are the ones defending her.  She has been a model of grace under pressure in my opinion.

[Pawz4me]

12 minutes ago, catz said:

I  think this is a reach.  Most sources (child psychologists, social workers, etc) recommend talking to kids about anything healthwise going on at their level.  Back during my childhood when we were told nothing, we ALWAYS knew when stuff was going down with parents and grandparents and just swallowed the stress of it without being able to talk openly about it. 

This.

Disclosure--to children (young or adult), other family members, employers, etc. is an often discussed topic on the cancer support board I belong  to. The overwhelming consensus from professionals, patients and caregivers is that it's much more likely for children to be harmed by NOT talking about cancer (or any serious diagnosis) than it is for them to be harmed by the knowledge that a parent has it.

[Lawyer&Mom]

She looks pretty good considering.  Why on earth did they release the doctored photo then refuse to release the original?  I feel badly for her and still feel the PR was abysmal. 

Edited March 22 by Lawyer&Mom

[Corraleno]

It's possible to tell children that a parent is ill without telling them the specific diagnosis — especially when dealing with a disease that many people find terrifying and which is often fatal. I've had two siblings, a step-sibling, and a BIL who were diagnosed with cancer when their children were quite young, and although their kids obviously knew that mommy or daddy was sick, they were not specifically told it was cancer when they were little. In the two cases where it came back when the kids were teens, they were told at that point.

Louis is only 5 years old, and Charlotte is 8, William 10. Does a 5 year old really need to be told that mommy was diagnosed with a specific disease that often kills people? And shouldn't that choice be left to the parents, instead of the tabloid press and a baying mob forcing it on them?

Edited March 22 by Corraleno

[Grace Hopper]

33 minutes ago, Corraleno said:

It's possible to tell children that a parent is ill without telling them the specific diagnosis — especially when dealing with a disease that many people find terrifying and which is often fatal. I've had two siblings, a step-sibling, and a BIL who were diagnosed with cancer when their children were quite young, and although their kids obviously knew that mommy or daddy was sick, they were not specifically told it was cancer when they were little. In the two cases where it came back when the kids were teens, they were told at that point.

Louis is only 5 years old, and Charlotte is 8, William 10. Does a 5 year old really need to be told that mommy was diagnosed with a specific disease that often kills people? And shouldn't that choice be left to the parents, instead of the tabloid press and a baying mob forcing it on them?

I imagine what she meant is that they waited until the kids were out of school before making a public statement so the kids wouldn’t be inundated by questions and comments from peers and school staff. 
 

Our kids were young when my dh got his cancer diagnosis. We waited to tell them until we had a clear picture of what he was dealing with and what a treatment plan would look like. After that we shared basic news with them. We were open to whatever questions they had and answered at levels commensurate with their ability to understand. Info was always shared with a desire to help comfort rather than give them info which led to greater worries, if that makes sense. 

[Sneezyone]

1 hour ago, Corraleno said:

It's possible to tell children that a parent is ill without telling them the specific diagnosis — especially when dealing with a disease that many people find terrifying and which is often fatal. I've had two siblings, a step-sibling, and a BIL who were diagnosed with cancer when their children were quite young, and although their kids obviously knew that mommy or daddy was sick, they were not specifically told it was cancer when they were little. In the two cases where it came back when the kids were teens, they were told at that point.

Louis is only 5 years old, and Charlotte is 8, William 10. Does a 5 year old really need to be told that mommy was diagnosed with a specific disease that often kills people? And shouldn't that choice be left to the parents, instead of the tabloid press and a baying mob forcing it on them?

They shouldn't be forced, no. Still, best practice is to treat children with the same respect you'd give others. Sharing the reality of the situation in age appropriate ways. Outcomes aren't always positive and kids shouldn't be blindsided. It sounds like they're doing that.

Edited March 22 by Sneezyone

[TexasProud]

Yes, I am sure the breaks for the kids had a lot to do with it.  To be honest, when we thought I might have breast cancer, I had already decided to "hide it" from my daughter until after she graduated.  Her high school graduation was in the midst of Covid (2020) and I REALLY didn't want to ruin her college graduation with my news.  Thankfully, the biopsy was negative, but yeah, I get wanting to wait until she was stronger and didn't look so sick before telling the kids. 

[BeachGal]

A lot of trolls should feel ashamed of themselves.

 

[catz]

I spent some time volunteering in a research hospital with a lot of cancer patients.  And social workers always encouraged people to use accurate language with children at their level, whether it was a child that was a patient or a parent or grandparent.  That doesn't mean deep detail.  That means age level overview.  Children don't have the stigma associated with the language that adults do.  That allows parents to set the tone and narrative.  Because people slip.  If they don't hear the C word from you, they may accidently hear it from a well meaning neighbor, church goer, schoolmate, grandparent, uncle, doctor, medic during an emergency.  Kids aren't dumb.  

Obviously, families are going to vary on approach.  A particularly anxious child may need a different approach than another.  But I absolutely think it is healthy that kids are told factual, age appropriate information while given plenty of space to process and trying to hold on to some pieces of normalacy.  Withholding from a young adult not living at home is different than withholding long term from a child who sees changes and differences day to day who might not feel they can talk about it.  American Cancer Society has good resources on talking about a diagnosis with kids.