Only a handful of American sites have published the new photos of the Princess of Wales, seen in an SUV in the Windsor area on Monday. TMZ spent the money on the mega-exclusive Backgrid pics, as did Entertainment Tonight. As of this writing, no British outlet has published the photos and royal reporters are not even retweeting anything. The reporters are calling the photos “unauthorized” and they’re claiming that they refuse to publish the pics “out of respect for her privacy whilst she recovers from her operation in the timescale we were given for it.” Keep in mind, when Backgrid gets mega-exclusive pics of the Duchess of Sussex running errands in Montecito, the British media can’t buy and publish those photos fast enough. But Kate and Carole arrange a photoshoot in Windsor and suddenly the British royalists are clutching their pearls.
The reticence to publish the pics in the UK also tells me that the photos probably weren’t intended for a domestic (British) audience. We’re underestimating how much the Salt Islanders were freaked out by the rampant online speculation about Kate, and this could have been a set-up specifically for the American/online/international audience. Or is that the way it played out? I don’t know. Curiously, Becky English at the Mail had some interesting details about the photos the Mail refuses to publish:
The Princess of Wales has been pictured for the first time since undergoing abdominal surgery in January – after an American website published photos of her being driven by her mother near Windsor today. The pictures were published by US gossip website TMZ but not in the UK after Kensington Palace appealed for her to be able to recuperate in private.
Kate was pictured wearing sunglasses in the passenger seat of a 4×4 Audi, which her mother Carole Middleton was driving near Windsor Castle. The photos were taken shortly before 9am, suggesting the mother and daughter were returning from the school run.
[Kensington Palace’s clear statements] failed to stop social media and overseas websites – from the New York Times to Vogue – speculating wildly about the princess’s whereabouts and what may have happened to her. The hashtag #whereiskatemiddleton has been trending daily. Even the BBC website tackled the issue, highlighting the outlandish speculation under the title: ‘Royal dilemma as public curiosity over Kate’s health grows’. Some of it has been farcical: such as the internet rumour she is recuperating from a ‘Brazilian bum lift’ or in a coma, a theory sparked by a journalist on Spanish television. Other trolls and conspiracy theorists have used her absence and the lawlessness of social media to spread deeply sinister and highly libellous claims.
Kensington Palace did not comment tonight but sources stressed these were paparazzi pictures that were not authorised by the palace.
Kate is currently under the careful watch of royal doctors and is benefiting from the London Clinic’s aftercare, with dedicated physiotherapists on hand with a personalised plan and a video check-up at home with a nurse specialist on offer. NHS advice about recovering from abdominal surgery says that, after a major operation with a large incision, it takes two to three months to be able to move around comfortably.
So, a few things – if Kate and Carole were doing the school run, where was William? Isn’t that the whole reason why William has been largely MIA for months, that he needed to care for Kate and do the school run? Now it looks like Carole has to roll Kate out of her sick bed so they can both take the kids to school while William is hiding out at some undisclosed location (he had zero events on Monday as well). “Kensington Palace did not comment tonight but sources stressed these were paparazzi pictures that were not authorised by the palace.” Two options: KP is lying or KP is telling the truth and the photos were a Middleton operation. As for all of the bitching about the “sinister” conspiracies spreading on social media… place the blame firmly with the clownshow at Kensington Palace, they’re the ones who bungled this whole thing from a communications standpoint.
Kate Middleton Seen in Public for First Time Since Mystery Hospitalization | Click to read more https://t.co/O7zlxZfiCY
— TMZ (@TMZ) March 4, 2024
The UK said “Kate Middleton seen for the first time” pic.twitter.com/OLK3PPkzDf
— Meech (@MediumSizeMeech) March 4, 2024
Photos courtesy of Cover Images.