‘Wild theories’ slammed as Kate Middleton vanishes from public view for months

Wild conspiracy theories on social media about the Princess of Wales have been slammed after Kate vanished from the public eye.

Catherine, Princess of Wales. Picture: Henry Nicholls - WPA Pool/Getty Images

Royal aides last night criticised the “madness of social media” as conspiracy theories about the Princess of Wales’ health continue to swirl online.

But officials have still refused to give any further updates on Kate’s wellbeing, citing medical privacy, The Sun reports.

The Princess has not been seen since Christmas Day and is not expected to return to public duties until April as she recovers from abdominal surgery more than six weeks ago.

The internet and social media have been awash with rumours about her — which were stoked further when husband William pulled out of a memorial service on Tuesday over a mystery “personal matter”.

The Palace says Kate is ‘doing well’ but has not provided much information. Picture: Henry Nicholls - WPA Pool/Getty Images

Kensington Palace insists Kate is “doing well” and will only provide significant updates ahead of her return after Easter.

William was yesterday given flowers — and dragon toys for his children — while celebrating St David’s Day in Wrexham.

He said: “I’ll pass them on to Catherine as well. Thank you very much.”

There have been calls for the Palace to be more open about Kate’s surgery and William’s last-minute no-show at this week’s memorial service for former King Constantine of Greece, at which he had been due to give a reading.

At the time, royal-watchers were advised not to panic over the last-minute change of plans

Now Kensington Palace has said: “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.

“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.”

There have been calls for the Palace to be more open about Kate’s surgery. Picture: Chris Jackson/Getty Images

William has blasted the ‘bile’ spread on social media. Picture: Aaron Chown - WPA Pool/Getty Images

William has previously criticised what he called the “bile” spread on social media and took part in a four-day boycott in April 2021 to highlight abuse and discrimination.

In 2018, he accused tech companies of not doing enough to deal with fake news, privacy issues and cyber-bullying — and putting profits before doing the right thing.

He said at the time: “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.”

Kate’s long stint out of the public eye has sparked many crazy internet rumours and viral memes.

But it is understood she remains at home at Adelaide Cottage, Windsor, recovering with her family.

On Wednesday, January 17, the Palace released a statement announcing she had “planned abdominal surgery”.

Aides have not given the nature of the procedure, but sources insist it was non-cancerous.

A spokesman at the time said Kate would be out of action until after Easter, which this year falls at the end of this month.

The Palace said then: The Princess of Wales appreciates the interest this statement will generate.

“She hopes that the public will understand her desire to maintain as much normality for her children as possible and her wish that her personal medical information remains private.”

There have been no updates on her condition since, and Prince William carried out his second day of engagements this week without his wife.

This story was published by The Sun and was reproduced with permission

Originally published as ‘Wild theories’ slammed as Kate Middleton vanishes from public view for months