The mystery surrounding Kate Middleton’s absence from the public eye has been a hot topic for months, ever since her last public appearance. The Duchess of Cambridge underwent scheduled abdominal surgery in mid-January and since then the Palace has been tight-lipped about her health or whereabouts, offering only vague reassurances that she is “fine” and will only share significant updates.
Speculation peaked when the Defense Secretary initially confirmed that Kate would attend the Trooping the Color dress rehearsal ceremony on June 8, ahead of the main event on June 15. However, this was later shown to be a mistake, and reference to Kate’s potential return to royal duties was removed from the army’s website. Kensington Palace said they were not consulted about Kate’s alleged appearance.
The Telegraph’s royal reporter Victoria Ward tweeted: “It appears the Ministry of Defense skipped this announcement and Kensington Palace was not consulted… we’ll have to wait and see if the POWs are well enough to attend.”
Moreover, Kate’s presence was mentioned several times in the overview of the event, but all references to her were subsequently removed from the site, along with her photo on the landing page.
Kate’s extended absence from the public eye is highly unusual for a royal of her stature. The public last saw her in a photo published by TMZ, which some speculate was staged. She also shared a photo on Mother’s Day of her children, but it was later found to have been edited, prompting news agencies to issue “kill notices” advising against the use of the image.
The Associated Press retracted the photo, stating, “The source appears to have manipulated the image.” Kensington Palace did not comment on the edited photo, but Kate addressed the issue on her and William’s official Instagram account, apologizing for any confusion caused by the photo’s flaws.
In her statement, Kate wrote: “Like many amateur photographers, I occasionally experiment with editing. I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photo we shared yesterday caused. I hope everyone who celebrated had a very Happy Mother’s Day. C.”
Kensington Palace later confirmed that it “will not be re-issuing the original unedited photograph of Kate and her children”. The saga continues as the public eagerly awaits Kate’s next public appearance, whenever that may be.