Finding all the Princess of Wales conspiracy theories so odd. Am I in as much of a minority as it seems?

[CupOfCoffeeandaPineappleChunk]

Perhaps I'm naive. Maybe my imagination isn't as wild as it could be ( although it is general incredibly lively), maybe ive got a realistic perspective, or maybe I've got it utterly wrong. Whichever is the case time will tell.
I'm Finding it difficult to understand why pepole would think it so inconceivable that firstly she has had surgery, rather than is having a MH crisis or divorce out they're is done other strange mystery afoot. It's apparently unimsginsble that surgery is major and takes a lot of recovery to get back to full health, a)to be potentially walking around for hours on end not feeling drained and exhausted and. b) being in the public eye wanting/ needing/ being expected to look good on return to public life.

i personally underwent abdominal surgery at the same hospital as the PoW a fortnight ago And stayed in for 6 days. Apparently many pepole in the Gi unit stay up to a fortnight two weeks on, although my cuts are tiny (keyhole), I am swollen up and currently am a similar size to I was when I was 7.5 months pregnant, covered in bruises, & in almost constant severe pain despite a cocktail of drugs and can barely move around. To say I'm exhausted would be the understatement. I normaly walk 6 miles every day and work out bit I can't ever get to the street corner150ft away and back without being crippled. I'm carrying about 7kg of extra weight in swelling. Needless to say apart from feeling grim I look deathly.
I've been given a very structured list of things I can't do for 6 weeks, very basic things - I tried as it seemed so ridiculous. Clearly its not ridiculous. Abdominal surgery can be a huge deal. I've been told 6 weeks to be able to do ordinary things like mopping the floor and hovering, carrying anything more than 4 or 5 kgs the 12 weeks to get back to my usual stamina and condition.

If i was appearing in the scrutiny of the public eye I would not be going out if I did not look back to normal and feel good. Surgery makes you feel really low and you need to feel good about yourself especially when you're going to be picked apart the world over. .

People firstly have no idea what is involved I often in major surgery. Add in having to maintain an Element of appearance for the public so asks extra time to achieve that.
They seems to be huge confusion between planned/ elective vs emergency surgery. Its always planned unless you are literally rushed in as a critical emergency. Otherwise it's classed as planned I saw my surgeon for a consultation. My op was the next day. Urgent but not an emergency, therefore planned.

Is it really that strange?..

@IsoldeWagner , I was mainly thinking back to the Meghan and Harry days when certain stories were dangled to deflect from other stories (and I can't remember a specific example). I think it probably happens in a less obvious way between the offices of the more friendly royals.

The tabloids and us being the wolves. 🐶

I'm not the same as a tabloid, thank you!
There's no evidence that Meghan and Harry stores were "dangled" to "deflect".
All these vague and broad accusations amount to nothing. No supporting evidence. Nada.

Except this is not true. The photographer has gone on record saying that the only edit to the picture was changing it to black and white. He then released the original colour version to prove it.

So it wasn't edited at all?
I don't care if it was, my point is that having a picture enhanced or whatever doesn't make a person a liar and I'm amazed at the pile on.

I'm not writing a peer reviewed paper @IsoldeWagner , just the general impression of someone not overly invested.

The public is finding difficult it to believe, because the information informally being reported to the media, is at odds with what the Palace is officially saying.

Right. I'm just fascinated by people who subscribe to these conspiracy theories, that's all. I often wonder why they believe them.

Well the public could actually use their brains themselves and think

If public had just been told the condition she had/has like with Charles - there would not be the all the wild speculation( eg that William had done away with her etc).
IF, however, it is Crohn's for example as speculated - can understand a bit why she did not want everyone to know. Sometimes stoma is needed with Crohn's.

I don't actually think the press is behind it - twenty years ago that would have been the case, but now crazy rumours are made up and passed around on social media by fans and obsessives. The press is following them right now!

I am indifferent to the royals 99% of the time, but I am very into watching online mobs go crazy (I've so much entertainment from the Gaylor theory, One Direction fans, and QAnon...), and this is right up there with the top tier online mob be-clownings. And the people who are doing it are so self-righteous about it, like there's something noble about participating in a crowd-sourced fanfic soap opera!

I think the monetisation of social media has played a part - all the people making money from Johnny Depp/Amber Heard TikToks and YouTube videos have switched over to Kate content and the wilder the theories they put out there, the more people click on them. It becomes an endless cycle.

Unfortunately Kate disappearing suddenly from public life - even though an explanation was provided - created a vacuum that online grifters and their credulous followers could swarm into.

No I don’t get it either. I was off work for three months for something which was not major surgery but debilitating and part of the challenge was that it also affected my mental health. I was on strong pain meds, slurring my words a bit. I looked like shit and did not want to be out in public.

I don’t get the big deal about the picture either. They tried to feed the beast and it backfired. But it’s a couple of photoshop tweaks, so what. Obviously there could be a lot more going on but we will soon know one way or another.

Respectfully, you’re missing the point. The lie was about the provenance of the photo, that it had been taken by William the previous week, implying that it accurately presented Catherine in her current state of health. It’s massive because If we can’t trust the royal family (or those that speak on their behalf) - and I say this as a royalist, albeit a lukewarm one - what are they there for? That’s the question which will be asked by those who want rid of them.

I listen to a discussion on this on the radio last week, ostensibly about the reasons for the kill notice and the need for integrity in photo journalism. All completely reasonable and understandable. However it was also obvious from what the journalist said that they are mightily pissed that they have reduced access, not only to the RF but also to e.g. the PM who apparently brings his own photographer. The resentment was palpable and actually he sounded peevish and bitter on the subject. So there’s a backlash from the mainstream media, plus the very malign influence of social media which is something we should definitely be concerned about.

In Switzerland which has absolute democracy they just shut down an online English chat forum. Because of a few key board warriors. That will start happening more and more everywhere and I think MN should be a bit more careful too and look at their policies again. It is such a useful site on so many levels - I would hate for it not to survive long term.

Whenever anyone posts a sensible comment like yours , others jump on to say that there is NO WAY there is any abdominal surgery that requires a) that length of time in hospital and b) that recovery time . We saw ridiculous posts of people having full hysterectomies and back at work 2 days later etc etc . Then I saw someone saying they had the exact same surgery ( even though none of us know what it was !) and they were fully fit within days .
It was absolutely crazy . Twitter was/ is worse.

This post makes me laugh. On good authority? Do tell.

Dh's sister's flatmate is dating a surgeon/coutts employee/lawyer 👍🏻😂

Yet the idea that the prince and princess of wales might be going through difficulties, for whatever reason, seems to be completely unpalatable.

I don’t find the idea “unpalatable” (odd term?). I do find it fairly implausible though. I read some of the commentators on social media (which is where this comes from) and see how they carefully go through every interaction between the Prince and Princess of Wales to find a single photo where there is a tiny moment when they look solemn, where they are turned away from each other, where their attention is focussed on someone else. That is presented as proof that they cannot stand each other, and don’t want to be in each other’s company. Posters say that on MN too, by the way.

What that approach does however is to ignore all other interactions between them entirely. Which are the majority and are completely different in tone. Where they regularly make eye contact, smile at each other, mirror each other’s gestures, touch each other fleeting as they move around their location. This isn’t just drawn from photographed milleseconds either, but video footage of them together. This doesn’t look like the vibe of a couple who are separating and unhappy.

i wouldn’t be upset if they separated because I don’t know them personally. I’d be surprised though because they look very much in sync. No-one knows what goes on in private in a relationship, obviously, but there are generally public tells of private unhappiness.

I just think that one enhanced/tweaked photo doesn't erode trust. It's not as if they only say they ride bicycles and were pictured in a gas guzzler, or that Macron came to stay and they put his image in the picture. I just don't see why it's a big deal, so we'll just need to agree to disagree on that point.

That's very interesting, @PinkTonic .

An example of what I mean: Kate and William sitting in the car waiting for to formally greet the Korean heads of state recently is presented as “proof” that they can’t stand each other. This narrative however requires their natural interactions while standing on the dais together minutes later to be completely ignored. Later that day at Buckingham Palace there was candid footage of them putting their arms tound each others waists as they left the reception room. And so on and so on.

And this is exactly the kind of nonsense that's stirring up all the ridiculous theories 🙄

Sounds crazy is absolutely spot on

There was another one where one poster claimed to be in the same hospital and heard nurses "giggling" about it. As if.

like there's something noble about participating in a crowd-sourced fanfic soap opera!

Yes I fine this fascinating too. I suppose there are big dopamine hits to be had by being part of a crowd/mob. I saw on another thread someone suggest that it’s to do with the time of year and folk always go a bit crazy in this country at the end of the winter.

See this is what you’re talking about op.

to this poster, they have said what it is, it’s abdominal surgery, you have no more right to her medical information than this, you don’t even have a right to that. This baying for more, taking offense,that you haven’t got it, so making stuff up is not gossip. It’s making shit up,

and the reason Charles is left alone is everyone knows he’s going through cancer treatment. He has also been seen where feasible. But people don’t envy Charles the same, so putting it out there he’s got marital issues or has had a nervous breakdown is much less enjoyable for those who want to attack Kate.

even your phrasing smacks of resentment, the “picture perfect couple “.

the overwhelming odds are Kate has had major surgery, she is in recovery, she wishes to recuperate in private. She neither feels or looks well at the moment and doesn’t wish a pic of her to be out there for posterity at her lowest and picked over by people like you. She has 3 young children and does not wish her private medical information made public.

this is all wholly believable, as unexciting as it is for those who are salivating over the thought of something worse.

kensington palace have handled it very badly, obviously in an attempt to protect Kate’s privacy and the children. But that doesn’t mean guessing it’s something worse is acceptable.