"Where's Kate Middleton?" Conspiracy Theories / Kategate

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About

"Where's Kate Middleton?" Conspiracy Theories refers to a set of conspiracy theories surrounding Princess of Wales Kate Middleton not appearing in public since late December 2023 after going for a planned abdominal surgery in January 2024. Conspiracy theories range from Kate Middleton being in a coma or dead or the British royal family preparing for a divorce between her and Prince William to more humorous ones such as Middleton recovering from a Brazillian butt lift (BBL) surgery. On March 22nd, Middleton posted a video to Twitter revealing that she was diagnosed with cancer and was undergoing chemotherapy.

Origin

On December 25th, 2023, Kate Middleton made her last public appearance as of February 27th, 2024, appearing in public with Prince William and her children (seen below).^[1]

On January 17th, 2024, Kensington Palace^[2] released a statement that Kate Middleton underwent a planned abdominal surgery and that the Princess of Wales would be staying in the hospital for the next 10 to 14 days and would not be returning to her public duties "until after Easter." On January 29th, Kensington Palace^[3] then announced that Middleton returned to Windsor to continue recuperating.

Rumors about Kate Middleton's prolonged disappearance from the public started circulating in mid-February 2024. For example, on February 19th, X^[4] / Twitter user @1followernodad made a post about the royal family "shutting down press" about Middleton's whereabouts. The post (shown below) received over 790 reposts and 15,000 likes in eight days.

More posts about Kate Middleton's disappearance and the lack of news reports about her status went viral on X / Twitter in the following days. For example, on February 20th, 2024, X^[5] user @Chiangel1984 made a post that received over 450 reposts and 4,000 likes in one week (shown below, left). On February 23rd, X^[6] user @ArchewellBaby made a post that garnered over 1,100 reposts and 13,000 likes in four days (shown below, right).

Spread

The rumors were followed by an influx of conspiracy theories regarding what might have happened to Kate Middleton. On February 26th, 2024, X^[7] user @MRSFVenom questioned the official version of the events in a post that received over 3,400 reposts and 63,000 likes in one day (shown below, left).

On February 27th, X^[8] user @MadihaBlob wrote about going down the "Kate Middleton rabbit hole" and reporting on rumors that she might be in a coma or even dead, or that Prince William is leaving her for a mistress. The post (shown below, right) gained over 2,500 reposts and 48,000 likes in one day.

Some users suggested humorous and outlandish reasons for why Kate Middleton was not appearing in public. On February 27th, 2024, X^[9] user @Swazi_Cheri reported on a theory that Middleton donated a kidney to King Charles III in exchange for later becoming a queen. The post (shown below, left) received over 870 reposts and 13,000 likes in one day.

Later that day, X^[10] user @lmxstn joked that Kate Middleton underwent a BBL (Brazilian butt lift) surgery, gaining over 940 reposts and 11,000 likes in a similar timeframe (shown below, right).

The joke theory that Kate Middleton was not appearing in public due to recovering from a BBL surgery saw notable spread in the following hours, with several memes based on it going viral.

Suspected Photograph Manipulation

On March 10th, 2024, Kensington Palace released an official photograph of Kate Middleton with her children through press and social media (photograph and X^[11] post shown below, left and right).

In the following hours, the photograph was scrutinized by users on X / Twitter, with posts bringing attention to signs of digital manipulation such as a part of Princess Charlotte's sleeve being transparent, as well as to Princess Kate Middleton not wearing her rings. For example, a post made by X^[12] user @feelingsplain received over 3,400 reposts and 52,000 likes in one day (shown below).

Later on March 10th, four major news and image agencies – Associated Press, Getty Images, Reuters and AFP – removed the photograph from their libraries citing concerns that the image was altered. AP^[13] issued a "kill notification" for the photograph, advising its clients not to use the photograph and stating that "it appears that the source has manipulated the image."

The development was followed by an influx of memes and posts about Kate Middleton and her current status, as well about the hypothetical person who was tasked with editing the photograph.

"Working From Home" Report

On March 21st, 2024, Kensington Palace stated that Middleton was "working from home" on a "special project" with the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood. The update did little to convince the public, and led to jokes about what the actual special project Kate was working on was.