The Kate Middleton conspiracy theories and the royals' right to privacy

The royal family is facing increasingly wild conspiracy theories about the Princess of Wales following her disappearance from public view to recover from surgery.

Kensington Palace announced in January that Kate Middleton had undergone planned abdominal surgery and would not resume her public duties until "after Easter" at the earliest. 

But the subsequent "void of news and photographs" of the princess has seen "the royal-watching landscape reach a new level of lunacy", said The Telegraph's royal editor Hannah Furness. The gap left by the lack of updates has been filled by the "wisdom of social media conspiracy theorists and trolls making mischief – some glib, others (in light of the princess's inarguable medical needs) grimly sinister".

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'Indifference would be worse'

Among the bizarre theories being bandied about is that Kate may be "hiding in a mystery location, in a coma, being cloned, having 'Brazilian butt lift' cosmetic surgery", or simply "waiting for a bad haircut to grow out", said Furness. 

On the "positive side", said the BBC's royal correspondent Sean Coughlan, people are interested because "they care". Public indifference "would be worse".

TMZ claimed this week that the princess had been spotted in the passenger seat of her mother's Audi near Windsor Castle. Amid the "rife" online speculation about her whereabouts, "this sighting is a big deal", the celebrity news site said. 

The reported sighting came days after royal officials responded to the viral speculation. In a statement reassuring the public that her recovery was progressing well, a spokesperson said: "Kensington Palace made it clear in January the timelines of the princess's recovery. We said we'd only be providing significant updates. That guidance stands." 

'Thickening fog of uncertainties'

Kate's absence has stirred the debate over the royal family's right to privacy. Her surgery, the nature of King Charles's cancer and Prince William's recent last-minute withdrawal from a memorial  for his godfather have produced a "thickening fog of uncertainties", said the BBC's Coughlan. Although a "modern monarchy" needs "some mystery to keep its mystique", the "opaqueness" can "look like concealment".

The history of publicity around royal births, "often posing with the newborn royal baby outside of the hospital", has "set a precedent" for what the public can expect about the royals' medical information, said media freedom expert Gemma Horton on The Conversation. So when royals "choose to go against this tradition", it can "frustrate both royal-watchers and publishers".

But Kate's spate of leave "fits into a long and evolving history" of how royals have chosen to handle health issues, said Time. Past generations typically "shrouded them in secrecy", such as when the British public was not told in the 1950s that King George VI had lung cancer.

Further intrusion could be on the cards for Kate, however, after her uncle this week entered ITV's "Celebrity Big Brother" as a housemate. Regarded as the "black sheep" of the family, Gary Goldsmith is a millionaire who was handed a £5,000 fine after he admitted assaulting his wife. A source told The Sun that his royal niece "doesn't need this stress".

The media was told a few years back that William wouldn't stick to the royal line of "never complain never explain" because he "wants to be more open", said Sky News's royal correspondent Rhiannon Mills. But there is a "red line" when it comes to his wife and children. His "anger at perceived intrusion" was apparent when photographers outside the London hospital where Kate was treated were "warned it was best that they leave".

What has "been made very clear", said Mills, is that William "isn't going to change his position" on family privacy, "no matter how noisy the speculation may become".