By Kiera Milne

We’re used to news outlets from every corner of the globe, covering the Royal Family’s every move. From Charity engagements, to spotting them down at the local shop. Across social media platforms, we are exposed to countless photos of the royals on the daily- this is why the Princess of Wales’ sudden disappearance from royal duties and the public eye, briefly turned internet users into detectives.

Before the disappearance of the Princess, Catherine had multiple engagements per week as-well as state banquets and her yearly holiday carol service at Westminster Abbey. However, after the annual Sandringham Church Christmas service, the Princess seemed to have vanished.

Speculation then began after Kensington Palace announced a statement regarding the Princess of Wales’ health:

“Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales was admitted to hospital yesterday for planned abdominal surgery. The surgery was successful, and it is expected that she will remain in hospital for ten to fourteen days, before returning home to continue her recovery”

“She is unlikely to return to public duties until after Easter”

At the time of the announcement, palace sources claimed that Kate’s condition was non-cancerous.

However, on March 22 Catherine, The Princess of Wales’ released an unprecedented announcement regarding her health, revealing her cancer diagnosis to the public, ultimately putting an end to the disrespectful rumours circulating the internet regarding her disappearance.

Where is the Princess of Wales?

Instead of respectively allowing the Royals’ to handle the Princess of Wales’ health privately, the internet took matters into their own hands becoming detectives and conspiracy theorists overnight.

Soon, Middleton suddenly became the subject of widespread conspiracy theories, with many speculating the condition of her health and her whereabouts, with some comical theories turning more sinister.

Comical theories included: BBL gone wrong, haircut disaster, the Princess secretly performing as ‘the unknown’ at the Willy Wonka Experience in Glasgow. However, there was more sinister conspiracies which included: William, the Prince of Wales cheating with Rose Hanbury, Kate Middleton pregnant with Thomas Kingston’s child, or the Princess of Wales being secretly in a coma or dead.

However, conspiracies continued to escalate on March 10 when Kensington Palace released a photograph of the Wales family for Mother’s Day- the photograph was later retracted by the Associated Press and other media organisations as the photograph was manipulated. Of course- this photograph just added fuel to fire, leaving many to wonder what is actually going on in the House of Windsor.

The following day, Middleton issued a statement apologising for altering the photograph stating “Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing. I wanted to express my apologises for any confusion with the family photograph we shared yesterday caused. I hope everyone celebrating had a very happy Mother’s Day. C”.

A question, you have to ask yourself is why did the palace approve the photograph, perhaps were they trying to distract the public from the truth? Showing the Princess’ happy and ‘healthy’ with her children?, when in reality the Princess has been undergoing cancer treatment. Arguably, as a result will this PR nightmare, affect the Royal Family’s reputation, has this damaged the public’s trust?

The PR nightmare, only just added fuel to the fire once again, leaving many to speculate where the Princess of Wales is. However, March 16, The Sun reported that William and Kate were spotted looking “happy, relaxed and healthy” whilst visiting a farm shop in Windsor, with TMZ releasing video footage taken by a member of the public at the farm shop. Of course, in true detective fashion, the internet detectives begun to speculate that the footage released was old, as Christmas lights were still displayed, until Good Morning Britain reporter Jonathan Swain visited the location, to prove the decorations were still there.

Despite, being proven wrong by British Journalists, internet ‘detectives’ were adamant that the royals’ are hiding the truth, with many suggesting they hired a Kate Middleton look-alike, Heidi Agan.

The secrecy of Middleton’s health and whereabouts’ was the hot topic across all platforms, and all ages. Everyone was eager to find out the truth from Kensington Palace, with some individuals using extreme tactics, to find out the exact truth of the Princess’ condition.

March 20, The London Clinic, where the Princess had her surgery and was receiving treatment from, officially launches an investigation after a member of medical staff tried to access the Princess’ private medical files.

Heart-breaking reality of the Princess of Wales’ disappearance

With the endless speculations’ and conspiracy theories surrounding the Princess of Wales’ health condition, she was ultimately forced to reveal the heart-breaking reality of her disappearance, to protect the Royal Family’s reputation.

March 22, Catherine released an unprecedented announcement regarding her disappearance and her health condition, revealing to the public that she has been diagnosed with cancer and is currently undergoing chemotherapy treatment.

“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 that 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.”

Further, the Princess explained that she and William, the Prince of Wales “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 my treatment”.

The reality of internet speculation, and why it should be stopped

The Princess of Wales’ announcement regarding her cancer diagnosis had sent shockwaves across the world, but the announcement was a huge shock for celebrities and social media commentators who have made memes and jokes about the Princess of Wales’ health. The announcement has sparked an overwhelming outpour of support for the Princess, with many internet users and celebrities feeling the need to apologise for contributing towards the negative and harmful speculation surrounding the Princess.

It’s strange, how quick people are on internet platforms to jump into false accusations and speculations, without thinking of the consequences of their actions. Regardless, of the royal title, Kate Middleton should be allowed to recover in private with her close family, out of the public eye without individuals spreading fake information and speculations, that could cause serious harm.