THE TIMES: Where is Kate? The royal family attracts more speculation by the day

[TallerSally]

On today's front page, the Times' Kate Mansey reports on the contrasting approaches taken by KP and BP's comms teams in their handling of the extraordinary situation the RF's currently in. It kicks off with the current host of the US's Daily Show (formerly hosted by the formidable Jon Stewart) asking some questions:

"While the King hosted friends and met world leaders, the Palace’s reluctance to comment on the Princess of Wales’s condition has created a rising sense of panic
One of America’s most popular TV comedy programmes was asking the question that had captured the nation. It was not about the Super Tuesday primary contests ahead of the US elections, or the State of the Union address, which elicited an exaggerated yawn from the presenter.

Instead, The Daily Show’s Ronny Chieng turned to look straight into the camera to ask: “Where is Kate Middleton? Where are you, Kate?”

There was no rush to provide reassurance this week from the Prince of Wales, who appeared to begin his working week on Friday with a visit to the Oval cricket ground for his Earthshot environmental campaign. Aides said that William had been busy all week, just not in a way that was visible to the public.

The King was doing the opposite. Away from public duties on doctors’ orders while he undergoes cancer treatment, the monarch had been expected to take this week as scheduled time off. Despite being told to “slow down” by the Queen, who took her own advice and flew to sunnier climes for a few days of relaxation, the King was ramping up.

He was photographed meeting world leaders and ambassadors from his living room at Buckingham Palace. Away from the cameras, he hosted friends who rallied round for afternoon tea and dinner dates. He insisted on the “more public” option of travelling between Buckingham Palace and his more comfortable private quarters at Clarence House in the State Bentley, so that he could “be seen”. Quite what the Queen made of it all from her sun lounger is anyone’s guess, but there are those in the palace who have an idea."

A tongue-in-cheek piece, but raises some interesting questions: have KP messed up the comms around Kate? and William? What is really going on with them? Why is the Royal family-funding public kept in the dark for so long, when usually not a couple of days go by without us having some nicely staged photo of some kind from Kensington Palace?

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/where-is-kate-prince-william-king-charles-cancer-khktpx9bm

No" is a complete sentence, as we say on MN.

Well by that token, "I've had surgery. I would like my medical information kept private. I appreciate all the support and I'll be back at work after Easter", is a complete explanation.

Only on here and other SM. I know someone who works in the Queen's Gallery and she's not mentioned it at all. No-one else I meet day to day has, either.

Charles has also decided to make himself visible maybe to reassure people?

I can understand that. He's the HoS and when the late queen was at the end of her life there was a lot of speculation about her health and how frail she was and what might be wrong with her. He's gone the route of 'nothing to worry about, not dropping off the perch yet' - which, give that he's 75, people might be wondering about.

I think the issue with William is simply the timing of his father’s cancer being discovered.

His wife was having surgery and significant time off. He was having a month off. All clear and planned.

Then his father’s minor prostate issue became something much different.

So he can’t really have the whole month off as planned, but the situation that led to him wanting the month off hasn’t actually changed.

Like a royal cuckoo clock? 😊

I'm finding this whole thing fascinating. Nobody IRL here is talking about it or putting forward conspiracy theories but online everyone seems to have lost the plot.

Except "after Easter" has now been pushed back til mid June. That'll be six whole months, but don't worry, plenty of very forceful posters telling us emphatically that everything is exactly as KP have stated - no more, no less, and they must be right. 😕

I think all KP staff is incapable, PR including. How they handled Megan and Harry (before it blew up, or rather before it blew up because of their handling) is an example. The whole “who made who cry” was an example of ineptitude in PR, and now they are doing the same

I started reading and I can't fathom what KP and BP refer to? Initialing needs to be prohibited on mumsnet! 😂

Nuts and oil

Kensington Palace & Buckingham Palace.

That's pretty much what KP have said on her behalf.

I don't think more is needed - and if supplied all it would do is feed the ghouls' next round of nitpicking.

She's on sick leave until around Easter (I've thought all along that her first public appearance will be church on Easter Sunday, possibly with an announcement a bit before that confirming her return - so they can start putting things in her diary)

It's completely different for the King, who continues to work even though he is postponing public engagements.

This.

I've a feeling she is quite unwell and its pretty serious. I hope she is ok

I agree the PR teams the royals use, are pretty shit. They can afford the best of the best, yet they repeatedly have a knack of making things worse.

I think so too

I also think William is under serious strain. He seems very weighed down and unhappy, and has seemed that way for quite a while.

I think social media and then the press feeding off social media are creating a storm in a teacup. The Palace said Catherine was having abdominal surgery and would not be doing public duties until at least after Easter. Why the need to not accept that? It’s ridiculous.

Makes me wonder too. But shouldn't speculate really.

I also think William is under serious strain. He seems very weighed down and unhappy, and has seemed that way for quite a while

It’s not surprising if he is. His brother trashed him publicly and what ostensibly seemed a close sibling relationship has completely come apart.

I completely agree. There is a valid debate to be had about the future of the monarchy, but piling pressure on one individual when they're taking time out because of sickness is not the best way of approaching this.

I hate these threads. So maybe I shouldn’t post on it. She is not well. She is recovering. She doesn’t belong to ‘us’. She is a person and not just a role. People get sick. People have issues. Recovery from an issue is not linear. People get signed off work all the time.

I wish people would give it a rest.

Precisely.

Re-posting the next tranche of the Times article which I posted upthread, and which rather blasts the "she'll appear after Easter" narrative from KP. It's quite something when even government departments are getting the "WE'RE THE BOSSES HERE" rebukes from KP:

"Meanwhile the Princess of Wales, who is recuperating from abdominal surgery, was not supposed to be seen at all. It didn’t quite go to plan. Two images of Kate emerged which served to alarm and enrage Kensington Palace for different reasons. The first was a paparazzi shot of the princess being driven around by her mother, Carole Middleton, which, having been sold to popular American news and gossip websites, promptly went viral.
A second, more innocuous image showed Kate in her role as the Colonel of the Irish Guards on a Ministry of Defence website. The palace brought in the big guns to shoot it down. The Army’s offence? Not the picture per se, but the mere fact that the Army had the temerity to suggest that Kate would be attending a troop review on June 8.
No matter that the date was nearly ten weeks after her anticipated Easter return to duties. The problem appeared to be that Kensington Palace must be allowed to control when and how it makes such announcements, not an organisation as insignificant as the British Army. The Ministry of Defence beat a not-so-hasty retreat, updating its ticketing site later that evening to remove any reference of the princess while she is missing from action."

Exactly.

And people forget that when she is seen again, she will be scrutinised from head to toe, as will every move she makes as part of the speculation into what was wrong.

She needs to be 100% fit to face all of this.

Yes. I can't believe the post about "making the thread tiresome" if you dare to say that you don't think you are entitled to more details than we've been given.