Commentary: What the frenzy over Kate Middleton’s ‘disappearance’ says about the royals — and us
In case you’re keeping track, and many people are, it has been more than two months since Kate Middleton was seen in public.
According to a Jan. 17 announcement by Kensington Palace, Catherine, Princess of Wales underwent a “planned” and “successful” abdominal surgery on Jan. 16. She would remain in the hospital for 10 to 14 days “before returning home to continue her recovery,” the statement continued. “Based on the current medical advice, she is unlikely to return to public duties until after Easter.”
In the months that followed, Palace reports indicated that the princess had indeed returned home, where she was recovering nicely. But the complete absence of Kate (and her children and her parents) from the public eye, coupled with King Charles’ recent announcement that treatment for an enlarged prostate revealed an unnamed form of cancer, has sparked an increasingly agitated royal watch, replete with conspiracy theories ranging from a looming royal divorce to “Kate’s in a coma,” all of which have been denied by the palace.
This week, when Prince William cited for his absence from the funeral of his godfather, King Constantine of Greece, the hysteria hit a fever pitch, with some demanding that the palace provide proof of life (preferably with Kate holding today’s Guardian high enough so the date is
