Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales, has been away from the public eye since December, leaving social media users speculating about the UK royal. According to Kensington Palace, the 42-year-old is recovering at home after a "planned abdominal surgery" in January, but some users believe the royal is in an "induced coma". Amid the speculations, the royal's senior staff members are not aware of her post-recovery process. Some of the staffers stated that she was nowhere to be seen.
"A few of Kate's senior staffers haven't been able to see or speak to her, and they didn't even know about the surgery until it was announced, so it's caught them off guard," a source told Us Weekly.
According to the New York Post, some of them had no idea about the surgery until it was announced by Kensington Palace. "Only a few people know what's really going on, and they're tight-lipped. It's confusing and causing some concern," they continued.
A "shroud of secrecy" surrounds Ms Middleton, the report continued, adding that the only guests have been the cancer-stricken King Charles III and his wife, Queen Camilla. It added that the palace is keeping the royal's post-op recuperation "very hush-hush."
"Kate's said she feels she's entitled to heal and recuperate without all of this frenzied speculation. Neither Kate nor William think her medical records should be for public consumption. She's trying not to pay attention to all the rumours and gossip, and William is doing his best to shield her, but it's distressing," they added.
Meanwhile, a controversy started after the Princess of Wales shared a family snap of herself with her children on Mother's Day. The photo was withdrawn by news agencies after it was found to have been "manipulated". The princess later apologised, saying, "Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing." The 42-year-old was said to be "very sad" that a happy family photo had sparked such an uproar.
However, the incident gave rise to a new wave of conspiracy theories about the British royal, which have been termed "Katespiracy" online. Many people were also curious about whether British royals had ever manipulated photographs, and media outlets like CNN announced that they would look over all of the handout photos that Kensington Palace had previously provided.
