Prince William and Kate Middleton’s start to 2024 has not been great. The Princess of Wales underwent surgery in mid-January, and not long after, King Charles began his cancer treatment after doctors found it during his enlarged prostate treatment.
While William took on a lot of responsibility for their three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis, he simultaneously juggled his royal duties. However, as the date when Kate could be back on royal duty approaches, one of the most significant setbacks of their joint royal life has arrived.
With the recent picture mishap, where Kate had edited the Mother’s Day photo of herself and her children, news agencies dropped the picture because it appeared to have been manipulated. Still, to this day, royal fans haven’t gotten any information about how she is actually doing besides some minor updates, and the fact that she isn’t showing herself in public—or even posting a new picture—has many worried.
While King Charles hoped that William and Harry’s feud would end, making the rest of his life a little easier, a royal expert now claims that the Prince and Princess of Wales have put him in an even worse situation.
After Christmas, about nine months after King Charles officially was crowned king at his May coronation in Westminister Abbey, it appeared that the royal family was on its way to move into a new era. King Charles and Queen Camilla – who have not only been accepted by the public but also very much liked – have taken the reign after the late Queen Elizabeth. At the same time, Prince William and Kate Middleton’s popularity has continued to grow.
Kate Middleton – mystery about her health status
Meanwhile, their children are growing fast, and the royal line of succession is secured for a long time. Also, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s attacks on the royal family ended, and as everyone screamed “Happy New Year” a few months ago, everything seemed OK.
But at this point, we know things changed quickly. In mid-January, royal fans worldwide were left in shock as Kate Middleton underwent what Kensington Palace stated was a “planned abdominal surgery” and was to be out from royal duty until after Easter. At the same time, the Princess of Wales decided not to disclose any details about her medical condition, which she is entitled to but wasn’t quite as appreciated by royal fans and experts.
Further, King Charles went through enlarged prostate treatment – and doctors found that he had cancer. Luckily, it was announced that it was found in an early stage, and the monarch will hopefully be back to full speed in a while.
As Easter approaches, many believed the world would soon see Kate Middleton back on royal duty. However, only a few minor updates have been made to Kate’s health since she underwent abdominal surgery.
The American tabloid TMZ published the first picture taken of Kate before Christmas some weeks ago, but Kensington Palace stayed quiet. But on Mother’s Day, March 10, it finally arrived.
On Prince William and Kate Middleton’s official Instagram account, a picture of Kate and Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Louis was published as Kate wished everyone a happy Mother’s Day. Fans were overjoyed to see Kate doing well – but only hours later, everything changed.
Kate Middleton – manipulated photo
Social media users began investigating the picture, and it was soon apparent that it had significant issues. The editing could have been better done, and it was evident that something needed to be fixed. Some parts appeared to have been manipulated, including Princess Charlotte’s jumper and Kate Middleton’s right hand, which also missed a wedding ring.
News agencies, including the Associated Press and Getty, issued a “kill notice,” an advisory notice to remove or not use a specific photo.
“It appears that the source has manipulated the image,” the Associated Press notification read.
AP also released a statement, saying, “The Associated Press initially published the photo, which was issued by Kensington Palace. The AP later retracted the image because at closer inspection, it appears that the source had manipulated the image in a way that did not meet AP’s photo standards. The photo shows an inconsistency in the alignment of Princess Charlotte’s left hand.”
Kate Middleton now finds herself in the middle of a massive storm. Conspiracy theories had already begun spreading in February about her health, where she was, and why Kensington Palace stayed quiet. The picture could’ve shut down it all, but now, things are getting ugly.
There are more conspiracy theories about what is going on than ever, and Kate Middleton is being accused of not telling the truth. It’s important to remember that we don’t exactly know what is going on or how much Kate Middleton really has to do with it.
Kate Middleton issued apology – royal expert says palace is to blame
However, we do know that the Princess of Wales decided to apologize for the picture, saying that she edited it and posted it to her and her husband’s official accounts.
“Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing. I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused. I hope everyone celebrating had a very happy Mother’s Day. C,” Kate Middleton wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Fans and experts have different opinions about whether Kate is to blame for this royal mess. Previously, many have called for the palace to release new pictures of her to end all speculations. Meanwhile, as the picture mishap has grown into an international news story, no picture has yet been released, and even more wonder—and worry—what is going on with Kate.
Several royal experts have argued that Kate needs to take responsibility for her actions. At the same time, royal expert Hilary Fordwich told Fox that the palace is responsible for what she calls “yet another public relations disaster.”
“The certainty is that a ‘slimmed down monarchy’ means fewer are guiding the royals and those who are aren’t as media savvy as they need to be,” Fordwich said. “In our fast-paced world with tech-savvy media outlets, the palaces need to hire the best and brightest in such fields.”
Although Kate had to apologize, the royal expert pointed out that Kate Middleton showed “integrity” by doing so.
“While this certainly isn’t ‘business as usual’ nor what we would expect from a royal household… it shows great humility to admit one’s mistakes,” Fordwich continued. “Others might have either remained silent or tried to blame another. Kate issued a straight-up, no-nonsense apology. Many could learn a lesson from such.”
“It was pretty much an amateur job “
Royal expert Rob Jobson, author of Our King: Charles III – The Man and the Monarch Revealed, agreed with Hilary Fordwich, saying it wasn’t Kate Middleton’s fault that things came to this.
“We can’t really blame Kate,” he told The Sun.
“Now it hasn’t passed that muster, if you like, and that’s because it was pretty much an amateur job on doing so. So, really, there needed to be some advisers around doing that job, making sure that in this modern world of modern communications that, you cannot tamper with photographs that are being issued as official photographs.”
“It damages the integrity of the organization that is issuing a photograph,” Jobson added, saying that Kate had done the palace a “favor” by accepting the responsibility. However, the manipulated picture has “added fuel to the fire.”
King Charles is laying low and has not commented on Kate’s surgery, her recovery, or the newly manipulated picture. The monarch, who was crowned in May last year, is undergoing cancer treatment and has decided to rest at Sandringham in between his doctor’s appointments.
Over the years, King Charles has had to be at the center of several feuds, not only between him and Harry and Meghan but also between his two sons. Meanwhile, Harry lashed out at his father – and brother – in his Spare book.
King Charles & the many royal family feuds
One of the stories in his book took place in 2019 at his London home, where Harry wrote that he and William had a physical confrontation. The Duke claimed William had called his wife, Meghan, “abrasive,” “rude,” and “difficult,” something Harry called “parrot the press narrative.”
It escalated, and Harry described how William “grabbed me by the collar, ripping my necklace, and … knocked me to the floor.”
“He set down the water, called me another name, then came at me. It all happened so fast. So very fast. He grabbed me by the collar, ripping my necklace, and he knocked me to the floor. I landed on the dog’s bowl, which cracked under my back, the pieces cutting into me. I lay there for a moment, dazed, then got to my feet and told him to get out,” Harry wrote.
The Duke then described how William urged him to hit back, describing their fights as children. When Harry refused, the future king left before returning later “looking regretful, and apologized.” Harry said he sustained visible injuries on his back.
The royal family has not commented on the shocking claim – along with everything else Harry and Meghan have said. It’s safe to say it will most likely stay that way.
At the time, King Charles wasn’t there. However, a few years later, following Prince Philip’s funeral in 2021, Harry, William, and Charles had a meeting at Frogmore Cottage that didn’t end well.
King Charles asked Prince Harry & Prince William to not make his “final years a misery”
In Spare, Harry wrote that his family members had “come for a fight” as they tried to reconcile with him. The Duke said the least they wanted was to understand why they had left the royal family in the first place.
“I tried to explain my side of things. I wasn’t at my best. For starters. I was still nervous, fighting to keep my emotions in check, while also striving to be succinct and precise,” Harry wrote. “More, I’d vowed not to let this encounter devolve into another argument. But I quickly discovered that it wasn’t up to me.”
But, as previously mentioned, it didn’t end well. Before the main subject was to be discussed – when King Charles asked about the weather and the funeral – Harry felt he was cut off whenever he wanted to speak. Eventually, the two brothers got “heated,” and their father had to step in.
Harry recalled Charles “looking up at our flushed faces,” saying, “please, boys, don’t make my final years a misery.”
Now, not even a year after officially becoming king, Charles finds himself in another kind of ‘misery’ as both he and Kate have been ill. Meanwhile, the manipulated picture is turning into a scandal, and the fact that royal fans aren’t being given any information about what is happening isn’t making things easier.
King Charles finds himself in a very tough spot, especially since his first son – the future king – and the coming queen have become the main characters, most likely seeking guidance from the monarch.
Royal expert claims Prince William and Kate Middleton has made a “Chernobyl-sized mess”
We don’t—and probably never will—know what goes on behind the scenes. Meanwhile, royal expert Daniela Elser states that Kate Middleton and Prince William have made this situation a massive problem for themselves and dragged King Charles into their issues.
“Here (the Mother’s Day picture) was a jolly god-given opportunity to tamp down the mania that has engulfed social media; here was a chance to prove that the Princess of Wales is alive and well-enough to work her trusty curling tongs,” Elser wrote for News.com.au.
“This should have finally set things to rights, a return to cool-headedness, normalcy, sanity. Oh no. In the place of a nice return to regular viewing, those major news agencies put out that ‘kill notice’ and things went nuclear.”
Elser continued, “For Charles this is something of a Chernobyl-sized mess (instance #868) in that no one seems to have even the remotest clue how to put out this inferno or begin to clean things up. All that William and Kate and their Kensington Palace’s office have managed over the last few weeks is to create this chaotic, shambolic, out-of-control situation which is now being reported on by every major outlet globally.”
While he will soon celebrate his coronation’s first anniversary, Elser argues that King Charles will have little time to celebrate. The fact that Kate Middleton and Prince William have put themselves in this situation is one reason.
‘William and Kate are making Charles’ life a misery’
But the royal expert also says it’s because Harry and Meghan still are somewhat present—and could cause chaotic scenes.
“In years of writing about the royal family, charting their downfalls, their exits, their TV shows, podcasts, books, interviews, interviews again, births, deaths and energetic visits to waste recycling plants, I have never seen anything like the insanity, and the inanity, of the last few weeks,” Daniela Elser added.
“In Harry’s memoir Spare he recounted the father saying in 2021 during a heated scene ‘Please, boys. Don’t make my final years a misery’ – sadly, William and Kate are accidentally doing exactly that this week.”
