Prince William, Kate Middleton’s latest move backfires amid global frenzy
Far from quashing frenzied concerns about her welfare, Kate Middleton’s unexpected latest appearance has had the opposite effect.
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Prince William and Kate Middleton’s team has been warned the current situation will “end badly” following a series of bizarre moves and increasing public frenzy.
The latest development came after The Sun reported that the high-profile pair made a surprise appearance at their “favourite” farm shop in Windsor on Saturday morning, just days after becoming embroiled in an embarrassing Photoshop blunder.
Footage of the outing, exclusively obtained by TMZ and The Sun, was then published, showing Kate and Will carrying shopping as they strolled through the car park.
Far from quashing increasing concerns about the Princess of Wales’ health, royal author and former BBC journalist Tom Bower claims it shows Kensington Palace has gone into full “panic” mode.
“Her appearance suggests panic at the Palace. Just as last week’s furore has died down, they allowed her to reignite all the questions about her health which should remain private,” he told the Daily Mail.
“Her advisers clearly can’t decide what their strategy should be, or agree (on) it with the Waleses. If they carry on like this – ducking and weaving – it will end badly.”
Bower – who wrote the explosive 2022 royal biography, Revenge: Meghan, Harry and the War Between the Windsors – also criticised the couple’s PR team for handling the recent photo scandal “appallingly” and exposing Kate to the furore that followed.
“Yesterday’s unexpected ‘sighting’ of Kate suggests that her Palace advisers have still not learnt their lesson,” he said.
Kate’s weekend outing comes amid unprecedented intense global scrutiny about her welfare after an 84-day absence from public duties – and with a witness describing her as “healthy” and “happy”, will likely open up a whole new can of worms for the crisis-stricken royals.
“Unfortunately for some people on social media and elsewhere nothing will ever be enough and they will now be saying, ‘if she is well enough to be seen by members of the public then why can’t we be told what is wrong with her?’” royal biographer Phil Dampier told the Mail.
It comes after the farm shop witness told The Sun they’d been “stunned” to spot the absent royal.
“After all the rumours that had been going round I was stunned to see them there,” a witness said.
“Kate was out shopping with William and she looked happy and she looked well … The kids weren’t with them but it’s such a good sign she was healthy enough to pop down to the shops.”
Kate has been recovering at her nearby home in Adelaide Cottage with William and their three kids in recent weeks, following two weeks in hospital for abdominal surgery.
The Palace’s plea for privacy following the announcement about her health in January was initially respected – but the quietly-growing online speculation about her welfare exploded last month when William was forced to pull out of a significant appearance, citing only a “personal matter”.
The frenzy escalated shortly afterwards when the royals released a new picture of Kate and her three kids for Mother’s Day – which was promptly recalled by major photo agencies, with a note that it appeared to have been digitally “manipulated” by its source.
Kate herself then took the extraordinary step of releasing a statement about the editing mistake, apologising for any “confusion”.
“Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing,” she wrote on Twitter.
“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.”
Several sources reportedly close to William and Kate also shed new light on the escalating royal crisis to the UK’s Sunday Times, admitting the couple was disappointed by the public’s reaction to their situation.
“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.”
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