Kate Middleton’s cancer announcement sent shockwaves worldwide. The conspiracy theories had spread on social media for months, and some even thought that the Princess of Wales was not alive anymore. However, with the cancer announcement, the conspiracy theories faded. Now, Kate spends some quality time with her family at Anmer Hall. Only time will tell when she will be back in the public eye.
As mentioned, the conspiracy theories about Kate Middleton and her health before the cancer was announced went out of control. The manipulated Mother’s Day photo added even more fuel to the fire. After her cancer announcement video was published, every frame of it was dissected, with some trying to prove that this one had also been manipulated.
While most of the world has accepted Kate’s cancer diagnosis, some still don’t believe it. On social media, an expert working at UCLA has shared several shocking claims about how he thinks the Princess of Wales is faking her cancer.
Kate Middleton has become one of, if not the, most popular royal family members among the public. In polls, the Princess of Wales always scores high points, and the fact that she is the future queen is rather comforting to royal fans.
Kate Middleton was “bullied” into giving out more medical information after surgery
This year was supposed to be the first full year of the new generation of royals — with King Charles and Queen Camilla at the helm — without big events such as the coronation, which took place in May of last year. But it only took weeks before that plan was wrecked.
Kate Middleton underwent abdominal surgery in mid-January, and just an hour after that announcement was made by Kensington Palace, King Charles revealed he had treatment for an enlarged prostate. It turned out that he would undergo treatment for cancer, but while the monarch had laid out details about his health, Kate Middleton stayed quiet.
As the weeks passed, royal fans became increasingly impatient about getting information about Kate’s health status. Not only did the conspiracy theories spread online, but people tried whatever tactic they could to try and get to the bottom of Kate’s medical record.
In late January, royal expert Richard Eden appeared on the show Palace Confidential, saying that the public had even written letters to The Times to ask for more information.
He even said that pressuring Kate into giving updates could come across as “bullying.”
“I think that there’s no reason why she should feel bullied into giving more details,” Eden said. “If she wants to, at a later point, fine; that’s up to her. But she shouldn’t feel that she has to.”
Kate Middleton stayed quiet, but she finally broke her silence on Mother’s Day. Or did she?
Kate Middleton – cancer diagnosis statement
The princess shared a picture of herself with her three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis, but it only took hours before everything backfired. Experts online debunked the editing errors, and the Princess of Wales was forced to apologize publicly. News agencies eventually began flagging the picture as manipulated.
They pulled it from their websites, and CNN even started investigating every picture shared by Kensington Palace to exclude the possibility of more pictures being manipulated.
If conspiracy theories had flourished before the Mother’s Day picture was published, it was nothing like what happened afterward. People on social media explained the most bizarre theories about Kate’s whereabouts and medical status. Some said her absence had to do with her and William getting a divorce, and another claimed she wasn’t even alive.
However, on March 22, royal fans worldwide were finally handed the truth about Kate’s absence, and it was far from what anyone could’ve imagined.
In a video recorded at the Windsor Gardens, Kate Middleton told the world that she had been diagnosed with cancer.
Her statement in full began with the princess thanking the public for their support, saying, “I wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you, personally, for all the wonderful messages of support and for your understanding whilst I have been recovering from surgery. It has been an incredibly tough couple of months for our entire family, but I’ve had a fantastic medical team who have taken great care of me, for which I am so grateful.”
“I am going to be ok”
She continued, “In January, I underwent major abdominal surgery in London and at the time, it was thought that my condition was non-cancerous. The surgery was successful. However, tests after the operation found cancer had been present. My medical team, therefore, advised that I should undergo a course of preventative chemotherapy, and I am now in the early stages of that treatment.”
“This, of course, came as a huge shock, and William and I have been doing everything we can to process and manage this privately for the sake of our young family.”
“As you can imagine, this has taken time. It has taken me time to recover from major surgery in order to start myitreatment. But, most importantly, 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.”
“Having William by my side is a great source of comfort and reassurance, too. As is the love, support, and kindness that has been shown by so many of you. It means so much to us both.”
“We hope that you will understand that, as a family, we now need some time, space, and privacy while I complete my treatment. My work has always brought me a deep sense of joy, and I look forward to being back when I am able, but for now, I must focus on making a full recovery.”
Kate concluded her video message to the world, “At this time, I am also thinking of all those whose lives have been affected by cancer. For everyone facing this disease, in whatever form, please do not lose faith or hope. You are not alone.”
Even though one might think that the video would put the conspiracy theories to rest, that was not the case.
BBC criticized for coverage of Kate Middleton’s cancer diagnosis
Some kept arguing that the footage had been AI-generated on social media, which, of course, was not the case. BBC Studios filmed the video, but after its release, the broadcasting network received hefty criticism over their coverage of Kate Middleton’s cancer announcement and the amount of focus they had spent on it.
On April 5, the BBC released a statement on its website, saying its reporting “made clear that this is a difficult time for the princess and the rest of the royal family; we have been mindful at all times to approach our coverage with sensitivity.”
“We broadcast in full the highly personal video message from the Princess of Wales, in which she spoke directly to the public about her cancer diagnosis. Our coverage reflected the significance of this story and the outpouring of support for the princess from around the globe. We explained to our audience what was known about Catherine’s condition but did not speculate on details that had not been made public,” the BBC wrote.
Moreover, the news organization said they had examined the “intense speculation” about Kate’s health weeks before her announcement. They added that they reported on her request for privacy and medical privacy and always “give careful consideration to the editorial decisions” they make.
“While we have a responsibility to report on stories that are of interest to our audience, we appreciate that not everyone would have approved of the approach we took,” the BBC concluded.
After Kate Middleton underwent her abdominal surgery in January, Kensington Palace projected that she would be back on royal duty after Easter. Now, we know that it wasn’t happening.
UCLA director claims Kate Middleton’s cancer is ‘fake’
After her cancer announcement was made public, the princess traveled to Anmer Hall at Sandringham with her husband, Prince William, and their three children to spend time together far away from the media and the public. Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis will return to school on April 17.
While conspiracy theories surrounding Kate Middleton’s health are still out there, one person has taken it further and now receives hefty criticism online.
Through X, formerly known as Twitter, Johnathan Perkins, UCLA’s Director of Race and Equity, has spent several months spreading conspiracy theories about Kate Middleton. As first reported by the Daily Mail, Perkins, who has a little more than 32,000 followers, asked questions about whether the princess of Wales is “still alive” and even claimed she doesn’t have cancer at all.
As reported by Daily Mail, Perkins wrote on X, “As a cancer survivor, I can confirm society treats cancer like a death sentence, patients like pitiful weaklings. I personally do NOT believe Kate Middleton had/has cancer. The Royals presumed cancer/chemo’s mere (vague!) mention would quash concerns re Kate’s absence – it mostly did!
In a post in January, Jay Perkins wrote, “King Chuck and Kate do NOT deserve my respect.” On March 28, six days after Kate’s cancer announcement, the UCLA employee wrote, “Really and truly wondering if Kate Middleton is still alive.”
Moreover, Perkins also claimed that the royal family is “using the Cancer Card” to “cover for something else.” He called her a “known liar,” and on Easter Sunday, he made a cruel joke, asking, “Wait, isn’t Kate Middleton supposed to rise today?”
Royal expert says Johnathan Perkins is ‘mentally unstable’
In a statement to the tabloid, a UCLA spokesperson said, “Statements on [Perkins’s] personal social media account don’t reflect the views of the university. [UCLA’s values] seek to foster open-mindedness, understanding, compassion, and inclusiveness among all in our diverse community.”
As of today, Johnathan Perkins, who previously worked at Harvard University, has removed all his tweets about Kate. However, the Daily Mail took print screens of them and revealed them in an article.
It didn’t take long before Johnathan Perkins received sharp criticism. Speaking on Sky News Australia, royal expert and podcast host of To Di For Daily, Kinsey Schofield, lashed out at Perkins, telling him to “get a life.”
“It’s so sick, I refuse to even say his name,” Schofield said.
“If you look at the amount of tweets this nearly 40-year-old man has sent about the Princess of Wales, I don’t know how you can think that there’s nothing but mental instability there. I mean it’s wild.”
