Friends of William and Kate shed fresh light on royal health crisis: ‘Broken through’

Several of William and Kate’s close friends have finally spoken out with brand new details on their current situation as the public frenzy intensifies.

Sources close to Kate Middleton have shed fresh light on her condition amid increasing global hysteria and speculation into her health and whereabouts.

Wild and unsubstantiated rumours as to the real cause of her lengthy absence from the public eye now range from significant health complications to marital woes – and, as a longtime friend of Prince William and Kate’s told the UK’s Sunday Times, the unprecedented negativity is taking its toll on the couple.

The Princess of Wales has barely been seen since Christmas Day, save for new video footage of her at a farm shop and blurry paparazzi shots of her in a car, with Kensington Palace revealing only that she’d had an abdominal surgery and needed months’ of recuperation – and privacy – back in January.

With public sympathy heavily on the popular royal’s side, Kate was granted just over a month of relative peace, before a series of successive odd moments and missteps from the Palace saw that protective wall come crashing down.

‘No choice’: Major turning point in saga

The panic began when William pulled out of an appearance at his godfather King Constantine of Greece’s memorial last month at the eleventh hour, citing only a “personal matter”.

“He had no choice but to pull out but the reaction was disappointing. That blew the lid off everything with people’s impatience to know what was going on,” the source, who reportedly has been close with William and Kate since their university days, told The Times. 

The Kate scrutiny then hit boiling point after the world’s biggest photo agencies issued a “kill notice” on a new Palace-issued Mother’s Day photo of the princess and her three kids last week, claiming it had been digitally “manipulated”.

The image was later revealed to have been digitally edited. Picture: Kensington Palace/Instagram

Kate herself took the extraordinary step of releasing a statement about the editing mistake, claiming she had been “experimenting”, and apologising for any “confusion”.

“[William’s] not in ‘blaming the media’ mode. He’s just really upset that his wife is having to go through all of this with her recovery, and then having to think about making statements about a family photo,” the Wales insider told the publication.

Many now claim the embarrassing blunder has eroded trust in the Palace, but the source insisted that it had been an innocent mistake.

“It’s a photo that she knew everyone would pore over so she pored over it herself — she likes trying to make the family look the best they can,” they said.

William, Kate and kids in ‘bubble’ with no live-in staff

The couple – along with their three children, Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, 5 – have always opted to forgo any live-in staff at Adelaide Cottage, the Windsor property they moved to in mid-2022.

Kate and William walking their children to Lambrook School, near their Windsor home, in September 2022. Picture: Jonathan Brady - Pool/Getty Images

That family “bubble” was designed to maintain their privacy away from their roles in the spotlight, and has been critical in helping keep Kate’s condition a secret in recent weeks.

According to The Times, it’s currently only the five of them at home – with no cook or housekeeper – after the children return from their nearby Lambrook school each day.

But sources claim they’re increasingly concerned that their safe haven is “under threat”.

“They’re not like [Prince] Harry, obsessing and scrolling through Twitter, but they know it has broken through. They follow the news and see the BBC breaking news alerts,” one claimed, describing the speculation about their marriage as “cruel”.

“These are people with three small children going through the hardest time they’ve had to go through as a family, with that as an awful backdrop.”

Couple disappointed by public reaction

The Times spoke with other sources close to the couple, who admitted they’d expected their request for privacy during Kate’s health battle would be respected – and have been disappointed by the reality.

“It’s not that they didn’t think there would be lots of speculation and interest, but they had confidence that people would give them the space they asked for, which they did for about a month,” one said.

The question – and lack of information – about what is actually wrong with Kate has been at the heart of the global furore, but another of her friends told the publication that the future king and queen are refusing to be “rushed” into sharing more details.

“They are at their most open when out interacting with members of the public and I can see a world in which the princess might discuss her recovery out on engagements. If she was going to do it, that’s how she would do it.”

A source added: “They will want to be clear and more open, but they’ll do it when they feel ready. I would expect that to be her instinct and it will be her call. They’re not going to be rushed.”

Friends suggested the pair would only reveal more details about her health in their own time - and most likely during a public engagement. Picture: Stephen Pond/Getty Images

As an insider from Kate’s camp also pointed out, the royal is “not a show pony” – and that she was following the exact timeline set out by the Palace in their initial statement, which indicated she’d be off work until at least after the UK’s Easter holiday break.

“What is happening is exactly what they said would happen — she would spend two weeks in hospital and be back after Easter. So what if they haven’t pushed her out there to wave from the back of a car? She is not a show pony.”

‘Tough to see’: William’s private battle

With his father, King Charles, currently out of action as he battles an unspecified form of cancer, and his wife also recuperating, William has attempted to keep things “business as usual” where possible in order to keep the royal show running.

While he’s appeared to be in good spirits across the handful of engagements he’s undertaken in recent weeks, including an Air Ambulance charity gala, an awards show in honour of his mother, and a board meeting for his Earthshot initiative, a friend told The Times that he’s been struggling behind closed doors.

“Privately, he’s dealing with more than he has for a long time in his life and it’s tough to see. He is OK, but it is hard.”

Originally published as Friends of William and Kate shed fresh light on royal health crisis: ‘Broken through’