Keeping track of the snowballing Prince William and Kate Middleton drama is a full-time job. It seems that each day brings dramatic new revelations, far-fetched theories, and unexpected headlines, making it impossible to know what to believe.
The Kensington Palace PR team is doing its best to put out these fires, but it appears that its water hose has been hooked up to a nitroglycerine tank by mistake. Let’s unpick this rat’s nest of mysterious hospital visits, doctored photos, unexplained deaths, and digital detective work to lay out the whole story from the beginning to present day.
Catherine “Kate” Middleton is born on Jan. 9, 1982. Six months later, William, Prince of Wales is born on June 21. The pair met while students at the University of St. Andrews, with Kate catching William’s eye by wearing a see-through dress. Ten years later they are married, and Kate has three children between 2013 and 2018. It’s a real-life fairy tale until it isn’t.
Sep. 12, 2023
Kate Middleton is pictured in public with injured fingers. The official line is that she suffered the injury “playing on the trampoline with her children at home” and it’s noted in the press that this is not uncommon, with The Daily Mail saying, “Kate’s otherwise impeccable image is often marred by the unsightly skin-coloured tape wrapped around one of her fingers or thumbs.” The publication notes previous incidents in 2016, 2019, 2020, and 2022 when Kate has been seen with injured hands.
Oct. 12, 2023
Kate is once again seen in public with a hand injury, with the explanation that the now month-old trampoline incident hasn’t yet healed.
Dec. 22, 2023
It’s widely reported that William and Kate will make an official Royal trip to Italy in “early 2024.” This casts doubt on the later announcement that Kate’s abdominal surgery was “planned,” as at this point the pair is finalizing engagements for the first quarter of 2024.
Dec. 25, 2023
William, Kate, their children, and members of the Royal family are pictured arriving for a Christmas Day church service in Sandringham. As of writing, this remains the last fully confirmed sighting of Kate in public.
Dec. 28, 2023
What appears to be a Royal convoy is spotted traveling from William and Kate’s Sandringham residence to King Edward VII’s hospital in the evening with emergency lights flashing. To date, there has been no explanation of why this took place or who was involved, though the security detail would indicate a member of the Royal family was present.
Jan. 9, 2024
Kate Middleton’s 42nd birthday passes with relatively little fanfare. Kensington Palace’s social media does not mark the occasion, though King Charles’ account posts an image of the two together with the message “Wishing The Princess of Wales a very happy birthday today!” Vanity Fair explains the lack of any formal event by saying Kate wants a “low-key” birthday and that she’s had a “relaxed and informal tea party” with her children.
Jan. 16, 2024
Kate is secretly admitted to the London Clinic and undergoes surgery. Despite her every activity and movement being reported on by the press and photographers tracking her every move, there is no news story announcing that this event has taken place.
Jan. 17, 2024
Kensington Palace makes an official announcement that Kate has undergone “planned abdominal surgery” and that she is expected to remain at the hospital for “ten to fourteen days.” Outlets with strong links to the Royal family like Hello! remark that the stay is “shrouded in secrecy” and that media access to the hospital has been tightly restricted. Later that very same day, Buckingham Palace announces that Charles will also be attending hospital the following week for a “benign prostate condition.”
Jan. 18, 2024
William visits Kate in the hospital. As far as anyone can tell, this brief visit to the London Clinic is the only confirmed time he visits her as she recovers from her operation. The Sun later reports that he visited her “every day,” but if these visits did take place, no photographs exist of him arriving or leaving.
Jan. 20, 2024
Spanish outlet Fiesta publishes a piece by journalist Concha Calleja claiming that Kate was actually hospitalized on Dec. 28. Calleja reports that her sources have told her that Kate’s situation is far more serious than Kensington Palace has indicated. As Calleja says (via Google Translate), “I have spoken with an assistant from the Royal Family and they assure me that something has gone wrong in the postoperative period. … The last time we saw her was at the Christmas meal and from then on she began to feel bad, Kate was admitted on December 28 and was in the hands of the doctors for several days.”
Jan. 24, 2024
The Mirror runs a story critical of Kate Middleton, headlined, “Kate, your best friend one minute and worst enemy the second.” It describes William and Kate’s marriage as fractious and claims that the pair has had physical altercations (they “give as good as they get” to each other). Soon after publishing, the story is pulled and reposted with Prince Harry’s name in place of Kate’s.
Jan 28, 2024
Fiesta‘s Concha Calleja claims that Kate is in an induced coma (via Google Translate): “Doctors had to make drastic decisions at that time due to those complications that arose. The decision was to induce a coma. They had to intubate her. They were serious complications that were not expected because the operation went well, but the postoperative period did not go so well. … Her life has been in great danger. In fact, the concern in the Royal Family was palpable.”Calleja goes on to say that “a hospital is practically being set up” at a Royal residence for Kate.
Jan. 29, 2024
Kensington Palace announces that Kate is leaving hospital “to continue her recovery from surgery” and that she’s making “good progress.” She is taken to the Windsor estate.
Feb. 5, 2024
Buckingham Palace announces that King Charles has been diagnosed with cancer.
Feb. 9, 2024
The Daily Mail reports that Kate has traveled from the Windsor Estate to Anmer Hall on the Sandringham Estate and is “looking forward to a change of scene and will be able to take it easy in Norfolk while the children let off steam with William.” No photographs are taken of her departure or arrival at either location.
Feb. 17, 2024
The Daily Mail’s Richard Eden reports that the “Prince and Princess of Wales visited St Edward’s School” to decide where to send Prince George. By this point, readers are hungry for information about Kate and seize on this story as proof that she’s back in action. Eden is soon forced to clarify that, despite the tone of his piece, this visit took place long before her operation.
Feb. 27, 2024
45 minutes before William is due to make a reading at the memorial for his godfather King Constantine of Greece, he cancels, citing “personal reasons.” The simmering curiosity over Kate’s vanishing act promptly boils over. We would later learn that this absence was connected to Kate being diagnosed with cancer.
The same day, the death of Thomas Kingston is announced. Kingston briefly dated Kate’s sister Pippa Middleton, was married to the daughter of Prince Michael of Kent, and was a member of William and Kate’s extended social circle. His death is believed to have occurred on Feb. 25.
Mar. 1, 2024
An inquest reports that Thomas Kingston died of a “catastrophic head wound” and a gun was found near his body. His death is said to be by suicide, but a mysterious death in Royal circles only stokes the fires of conspiracy speculation.
Mar. 4, 2024
TMZ posts what’s billed as the first image of Kate Middleton since Dec. 25, 2024. The grainy image is immediately pored over and it remains inconclusive as to whether this is actually Kate or not. Though widely republished around the world, it is not reprinted in the United Kingdom due to what’s later described as “huge pressure on the British media” from Kensington Palace.
Mar. 5, 2024
The British Ministry of Defence reports that Kate will attend the Trooping of the Colours ceremony on June 8. This is rapidly retracted after Kensington Palace intervenes, with the Ministry of Defence speedily removing any reference to Kate from the event. This would appear to contradict Kensington Palace’s assertion that Kate is expected back on public duties after Easter.
Mar. 10, 2024
With the conspiracy theories about Kate’s health and safety mounting, Kensington Palace posts an image of Kate and her children celebrating Mother’s Day to its Instagram account to reassure the public she’s okay. The image was supposedly taken by William himself, and many people immediately notice bizarre inconsistencies with the image that suggest it’s fake.
International press agencies agree, noting obvious image manipulation. A “Mandatory Kill” notice is ordered retracting the image. A photo intended to quell speculation detonates a bomb under the story, with even outlets generally friendly to the Royal family beginning to question what the heck is going on.
That same day, The Independent publishes a glowing profile about Rose Hanbury, the Marchioness of Cholmondeley, who has been widely reported as having an affair with Prince William. Tatler publishes a similar article the same day, though rapidly deletes both it and the tweet, announcing it with no explanation.
Mar. 11, 2024
Kensington Palace issues an explanation pinning the blame on Kate herself. In a message signed “C,” the writer admits to experimenting with photo editing. Careful readers note that this technically isn’t an admission of wrongdoing, merely an apology for “any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused.” Eyebrows are raised when, despite the global furor, the Kensington Palace press team outright refuses to let anyone see the unedited image.
Mar. 11, 2024
A new image of Kate appears, apparently taken as she and William head to “a private appointment.” The woman in the picture is facing away from the camera and cannot be conclusively identified as Kate, causing yet more speculation as to what’s going on.
Mar. 12, 2024
The funeral of Thomas Kingston takes place in the Chapel Royal in St. James’ Palace. Prince William attends as the representative of the Royal family. There is no known message of condolence or memorial from Kate.
Mar. 14, 2024
In the wake of the doctored photo Kensington Palace is no longer considered “a trusted source” of information by Agence France-Presse.
Mar. 17, 2024
The Sun newspaper publishes a story saying that a “happy and healthy” Kate Middleton has been spotted at a garden shop on March 16 with William in the vicinity of Windsor Castle. No photographic evidence is provided, giving yet more fuel to the speculation that all is not well.
Mar. 18, 2024
Social media is abuzz with reports of a “major announcement” from the Royal family. Rumors emerge that the Union Flag is at half-mast over Buckingham Palace and Russian news outlets report that King Charles has died. This all proves to be untrue and no announcement is made.
The same day The Sun posts an image of a woman purported to be Kate Middleton. Opinion is split as to whether this is actually her or not.
Mar. 19, 2024
In an attempt to “shut the trolls up” The Sun posts the video of the woman they claim to be Kate Middleton. This does not clear anything up, least of all when the person who shot the video is rumored to be a “Digital Community Engagement Lead” and film producer (though it is unclear whether he merely shares a name with this person).
Mar. 20, 2024
In an attempt to uncover the truth about the operation, staff at the London Clinic have reportedly attempted to access her digital medical records. These appear to have been monitored for unauthorized access and an inquiry has been launched to discover who was responsible.
Mar. 22, 2024
Kate Middleton posts a video explaining that she was diagnosed with cancer soon after her abdominal operation in January and is in the early stages of chemotherapy, with her treatment beginning in late February. The delay in making this announcement is said to be related to explaining her condition to her children.
We will update this timeline as and when new developments happen.
