‘Grateful’ Prince William accepts gifts for Princess Catherine
Buckingham Palace has hit out at the ‘madness of social media’ as rumours about the health of the Princess of Wales continue to grow.
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Buckingham Palace has hit out at the ‘madness of social media’ as rumours about the health of the Princess of Wales continue to grow.
However, despite coming out swinging, Royal aides continue to refuse to give any further updates on the well being of Princess Catherine, citing medical privacy.
Kate has not been seen since celebrating Christmas Day and she is not expected to return to her public duties until next month, as she continues to recover from abdominal surgery she underwent over six weeks ago.
Social media and the internet have been abuzz with rumours about Kate in that time. More fuel was thrown onto those flames when Prince Williams sidestepped a scheduled memorial service on Tuesday citing a “personal matter”.
The Palace has only offered that Kate is “doing well” and said it will only provide significant updates ahead of her return to Royal duties after Easter.
There have been continued calls for the Palace to be more transparent about Kate’s surgery but that hasn’t been forthcoming despite Royal watchers being told not to worry about William’s late change of plans for the memorial service for former King Constantine of Greece, at which he was due to give a reading but skipped it.
“We were really clear from the start we weren’t going to provide a running commentary on the Princess of Wales’s health and only provide significant updates,” the Palace said.
“Obviously, we’ve seen the madness of social media and that is not going to change our strategy. There has been much on social media but the Princess has a right to privacy and asks the public to respect that. We remind you of the statement in January where it was the Princess of Wales’s wish her medical information would remain private.”
Kate’s husband the Prince of Wales has previously hit out at the ‘bile’ spread on social media and in 2021 he took part in a four-day boycott to highlight abuse and discrimination on the platforms.
In 2018, he accused the tech companies of not working hard enough to deal with fake news, cyber-bullying and privacy issues and that they were putting profits before doing the right thing.
“The tools we use to congratulate each other on milestones and successes can also be used to normalise speech that is filled with bile and hate,” he said.
Kate’s long absence from the public eye has fuelled plenty of speculation on the internet.
But according to The Sun, she remains at home at Adelaide Cottage recovering from the surgery with her family.
PRINCE WILLIAM DOWNS A FEW SHOTS
Prince William has accepted flowers for Princess Catherine and presents for his three children during a visit to Wales to mark St David’s Day.
As seen in a video shared on X by local outlet Radio City News, three pupils presented Prince William with red dragon toys (the symbol that appears on the Welsh national flag) for his kids.
“Look at this! Thank you very much, the children will love these when I come home with these guys,” Prince William said to the students.
The Prince of Wales also accepted a large bouquet of flowers and said, “I’ll pass those on to Catherine as well.”
The school’s principal, Richard Hatwood, told reporters “it was fantastic” to have Prince William visit, and the royal was “grateful” for the gifts for his children and Princess Catherine.
Hatwood said the flowers were “for the Princess of Wales to share our thoughts while she has been unwell”.
Later, Prince William visited a Wrexham pub and downed shots of whiskey and pints of beer with Hollywood star Rob McElhenney.
The two enjoyed drinks at The Turf pub, located next to Welsh soccer club Wrexham AFC, which McElhenney co-owns with Hollywood star Ryan Reynolds.
“Still got a horrible head on it, but there you go. This is why I don’t work behind the bar,” Prince William said after pouring a pint of beer, before telling McElhenney that he “loves” cider.
The future King was shown around the club’s grounds and gifted a Wrexham top by soccer players Ben Tozer and Luke Young. The shirt featured the royal’s first name and the No. 9 on the back.
Over at the soccer club, the Prince of Wales spoke to locals about the venue, and heard how the team has evolved since McElhenney and Reynolds took over the club in 2021.
It was the second royal visit to the soccer club in recent months. In September 2023, Reynolds and McElhenney detailed their encounter with King Charles and Queen Camilla, who paid a similar visit to Wrexham in 2022.
Prince William’s trip to Wales followed hot on the heels of another royal engagement that saw him attend an event against antisemitism at a London synagogue on Thursday.
The Prince’s attendance came after mysteriously pulling out of his godfather King Constantine of Greece’s memorial service at the eleventh hour for “personal reasons” earlier this week. Kensington Palace, however, noted simultaneously that Princess Catherine was “doing well” amid her recovery.
Nevertheless, conspiracy theories quickly grew rampant about her whereabouts.
“Kensington Palace made it clear in January the timelines of the princess’ recovery and we’d only be providing significant updates,” the Palace said in a statement. “That guidance stands.”
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