As many speculated, Kate Middleton reportedly recorded her March 22 video revealing her shocking cancer diagnosis under duress. But although she apparently didn’t feel compelled to share the news, she wanted to quiet all the rampant conspiracy theories swirling around the planet about her health and whereabouts.
A new report said that Kensington Palace rushed the video out to the world after aides learned that her diagnosis had been leaked. The palace was contacted by someone who had learned of the diagnosis, leaving the Princess of Wales and palace aides with no option but to try and “get ahead of the story,” an insider told the Daily Mail’s Ephraim Hardcastle column.
It’s not clear who the “someone” was who contacted the palace, but it could have been a representative from a news or tabloid outlet that was preparing to publish the story, according to the Daily Mail.
It’s also not clear how the news was leaked, but there have been concerns that the princess’ privacy was breached at The London Clinic, where she underwent abdominal surgery in January. Before Kate appeared in her video, reports surfaced that an investigation had been launched at the esteemed London hospital, after it was learned that unidentified staffers had reportedly tried to access her private medical records. ITV News reported last month that the investigation had expanded to three staffers.
But even if the 42-year-old mother of three felt forced to reveal that she was undergoing treatment for cancer, her video ended up receiving widespread acclaim for the “grace” “poise” and “courage” she exhibited while delivering such news to a global audience.
“Whether the leak came from The London Clinic, or from a flunkey who had been loose-lipped, remains unclear,” the Ephraim Hardcastle column said. “Whatever the reason, the universal acclaim heaped on Kate confirmed it was the right decision.”
Writers on both sides of the Atlantic said the princess showed “the fortitude” of the late Queen Elizabeth II, as she calmly disclosed that the cancer was discovered after she underwent surgery in January for a condition that wasn’t believed to be cancerous at the time. Dressed in a casual, “everyday mum uniform” of jeans and a sweater, and utilizing words she reportedly wrote herself, Kate also said she had begun “preventative chemotherapy.” But she assured the public, “I am well and getting stronger every day.”
While Kate left certain details out — including what type of cancer she had — she nonetheless included comments that seemed designed to quash gossip about her marriage to Prince William and to explain why so little information had been released about her condition since her surgery and her last public appearance on Christmas Day. She referred to the importance of having “William by my side,” while saying the couple prioritized their children’s well-being before going public with her diagnosis.
“It has taken us time to explain everything to George, Charlotte and Louis in a way that is appropriate for them, and to reassure them that I am going to be OK,” she said.
Many royal observers speculated that the princess timed the release of the video around her children’s school schedule. They said she probably wanted to wait to go public with her cancer diagnosis until after her children went on break for the Easter holiday, giving the family time to process the news together, InStyle reported.
“We now understand the logic of the timing — waiting for the children to break up from school. And she struck a pitch-perfect note,” royal biographer Sally Bedell Smith explained to InStyle.
But the Daily Mail column raises questions about whether the princess had more pressing considerations with regard to the timing, as in someone was about to publish a story about her condition. In any case, observers said the video served to mostly quiet the onslaught of speculation about her health and criticism of the royal family, with even royal supporters saying that the palace had botched its handling of the controversy and appeared to be hiding the truth about the princess’ condition from the British public.
The criticism, which focused on a perceived lack of transparency, ramped up after Kensington Palace released a photo of Kate and her three children on Mother’s Day in the U.K. Several hours after the photo was released, multiple international news agencies flagged it, after observing that the image had clearly been digitally manipulated.
Kate soon issued a public apology, taking responsibility for the “amateur” photo-editing job. But her statement only fueled further criticism over the idea that the palace, or William himself, had thrown her “under the bus” while she was recovering from a serious health condition.
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