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William’s absence at the memorial, and the reason given by the palace – an undisclosed personal matter – only fuelled continued speculation around Catherine’s health. Little is known about her medical procedure, leading to plenty of conjecture, concern and conspiracy theories.
Multiple media outlets reported receiving a statement from the palace on Thursday as saying: “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.”
Prince William, Prince of Wales wears a kippah on a visit to the Western Marble Arch Synagogue in London on Thursday.Credit: Getty
Later, during a visit to a London synagogue to meet Holocaust survivors and support victims rising antisemistim suffered since the start of the war in Gaza, William mentioned his wife.
“Both Catherine and I are extremely concerned about the rise in antisemitism that you guys have talked about this morning and I’m just so sorry if any of you have had to experience that,” the prince said, Reuters reported. “That’s why I’m here today to reassure you all that people do care and people do listen.”
What kind of surgery did Catherine have?
That remains a mystery to the public. Abdominal surgery could be anything from an appendectomy to laparoscopy. On January 17, Kensington Palace said the surgery was successful. It did not offer details on Kate’s diagnosis or prognosis, other than that her condition was “not cancerous.”
In this handout image released by BBC Studios and Kensington Palace, Catherine, Princess of Wales, delivers a message to open “Children in Need 2023” on BBC One in November.Credit: Getty
The palace added: “The Princess of Wales appreciates the interest this statement will generate. She hopes that the public will understand her desire to maintain as much normality for her children as possible; and her wish that her personal medical information remains private.”
The palace issued another statement at the end of the month, telling the public that Kate had been discharged from the London Clinic.
Where is Catherine?
At home, according to a statement. The palace said the princess would recuperate at Adelaide Cottage in Windsor Home Park after she left the hospital.
Her office added that she was “unlikely to return to public duties until after Easter”.
How is the family faring?
William visited his wife shortly after her surgery and was photographed leaving the hospital. But according to People magazine, their three children did not see their mother at the hospital. That follows the London Clinic’s visitor guidelines, which state that “we do not permit any children or babies to visit”. (Special requests must be approved by hospital staff.) Instead, the princess is said to have connected with her children over FaceTime.
Conspiracy theory nonsense
The palace has called various conspiracy theories “total nonsense”.
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The lack of information around Catherine has given rise to wild speculation about her health. A Spanish journalist named Concha Calleja claimed that she spoke with a source within the royal family. The source supposedly told Calleja the princess faced serious complications after surgery, requiring “drastic” actions to save her life.
“The decision was to put her in an induced coma,” Calleja told the Spanish news show Fiesta.“They had to intubate her.”
In its initial statement, Kensington Palace said it would provide updates on the princess only when there was “significant new information to share.” But the palace was moved to address Calleja’s claims, calling them “total nonsense” and “ludicrous”.
Calleja defended her statements, telling another publication that she stood by her source.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.