Kate Middleton Timeline: Unveiling the ‘Katespiracy’ from surgery to Mother’s Day photo fiasco
A timeline of Kate Middleton amid surgery, photo fiasco and rumors
Kate Middleton underwent a planned abdominal surgery in mid-January and has kept herself away from the public eye ever since. Her fans, who were already worried about her health, have become even more concerned after the edited photo of the Princess of Wales was posted by the official account of Kensington Palace. Even more bizarre is the fact that Kate took the blame for the botched editing, sparking a flurry of rumors regarding her health and whereabouts, giving the moniker 'Katespiracy'.
1. December 25, 2023
Kate looked exquisite as she attended the Christmas Day service at St Mary Magdalene Church at Sandringham in Norfolk, England on Christmas Day. The event was attended by members of the royal family, including King Charles, Queen Camilla, and Prince William. Kate and William's three children - Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis were all in attendance, per Yahoo! Entertainment.
2. January 16, 2024
The Princess of Wales was admitted to a private London clinic where she underwent a planned abdominal surgery. The Palace revealed the news of her operation a day later and shared that the surgery was "successful". Nevertheless, she was to remain at the hospital for another two weeks and her public duties were paused "until after Easter".
3. January 29, 2024
The Palace shared that Kate was discharged from the hospital after 13 days and returned home “for a period of private recuperation".
4. February 2, 2024
Within a few days of her discharge from the hospital, rumors started swirling that the Princess of Wales was in a coma. However, a report published by UK's Times had a palace representative quashing the claims as “total nonsense” and “totally made-up,” per the Times (UK).
5. February 27, 2024
Kate Middleton's fans became worried again as Prince William pulled out of the memorial service arranged for his godfather, the late King Constantine of Greece, citing "a personal matter," per NBC. As concerns started to grow about Kate's health, a palace representative shared that the mother-of-three "continues to be doing well".
6. February 29, 2024
Due to growing concerns regarding the princess's health, a palace source shared an update with a leading news source. "We were very clear from the outset that the Princess of Wales was out until after Easter and Kensington Palace would only be providing updates when something was significant," per People.
7. March 4, 2024
The first paparazzi photo of Kate Middleton was published on March 4, when she was photographed sitting on the passenger's seat as her mother, Carole Middleton was driving the car. However, the grainy photo further fueled controversies as fans wondered about her health, per TMZ.
8. March 10, 2024
The first photo of Kate was published by the official handle of the Prince and Princess of Wales as they posted a happy family picture of Kate with her three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis, on the occasion of Mother's Day in the UK. Accompanying the photo was a caption that read, "Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the last two months." The photo, however, opened a barrage of concerns among the fans as the photo was pulled down from several photo hosting agencies citing alteration by the source.
9. March 11, 2024
Following the fiasco regarding the Mother's Day post, the Princess wrote an apology post on the official handle of the Prince and the Princess of Wales, where she took the blame for the gaffe. The statement undersigned with Catherine's 'C', read, “Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing,” before adding, “I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused."
