A ‘Completely Candid’ Kate Middleton Video Would Help the ‘Massive Crisis’ Kensington Palace Is in, Commentator Says
Kate Middleton needs to hit record. A royal commentator says the Princess of Wales could — and should — ease some of the fallout from the edited Mother’s Day photo controversy by appearing in a “completely candid” video.
Kensington Palace’s ‘just fine’ refrain about Kate has raised questions
Discussing the blunder that became the photo of Kate and her children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis, to mark Mother’s Day in the U.K., royal commentator Jack Royston discussed the importance of a “candid” video on BBC’s Reliable Sauce podcast.
“Kensington Palace, all of their communications [throughout Kate’s surgery recovery] have been along the lines of: ‘’It was a simple procedure. It was planned. It was successful. Her recovery is doing well,’” he said (via Newsweek).
“They’ve not acknowledged any kind of struggle or anything difficult,” he continued. “And that obviously then makes people think: Well, if everything’s just fine, then why can’t they just release a picture? Like, why can’t you just do a video?”
On March 10, 2024, Kensington Palace released the family photo taken by Prince William at Adelaide Cottage. The snap, which photo agencies took down due to manipulation claims, marked the first official image of Kate during her recovery.
Filming a video of Kate will help rebuild trust in the palace
Jonelle Awomoyi, the host of Reliable Sauce, asked if Kate should do a TikTok video, to which Royston said yes.
“Why can’t she just post a little selfie and say: ‘Guys, I’m good. I’m good, you know’ or ‘I’m not so good, please respect me,’” Awomoyi said.
Royston explained that whatever route the palace takes — TikTok, Instagram, etc. — is all about rebuilding trust in Kate and the palace and the information they share with the world.
“People just want to see that she’s OK,” he said. “And the thing is, because people just literally don’t understand why she wouldn’t actively want to just do that, that just kind of amplifies the conspiracy theories and people thinking: This just does not make sense, why is it so hard to get one picture of her?”
“In terms of what Kensington Palace could do next,” he continued, “they could look at doing a video, Kate doing a video, just completely candid, not trying to make it look perfect, not trying to make it look polished but actually, if anything, leaning into a really naturalistic [representation].”
“Where you have a vacuum, people fill that vacuum with wild theories,” Royston said. “For the palace, it’s like nobody’s going to just instinctively trust them ever again.”
Calling it a “massive crisis,” he concluded, “Kensington Palace must be a reliable source of information.”
The palace announced Kate’s ‘planned’ abdominal surgery in January
A lot has happened since word of Kate’s surgery first came down from the palace. So here’s a refresher.
On Jan. 17, 2024, Kensington Palace announced via a statement the 42-year-old royal had undergone a “planned” abdominal surgery one day earlier at The London Clinic. Additionally, they noted Kate would spend the next few months — likely through March 2024 — recovering.
Furthermore, the palace wouldn’t offer updates on Kate’s condition during her recovery unless they were significant. The reason, they explained, is because the mother of three wanted to maintain some normalcy for her and William’s three children.
Nearly two weeks following the palace’s initial announcement, Kate left the hospital and returned home to Adelaide Cottage to continue her recovery, which has reportedly included “guilty pleasure” TV shows and close family lending a hand.
During Kate’s recovery, wild speculation has ensued online about her condition, culminating in a strongly-worded statement from the palace, a paparazzi photo, and, of course, the Mother’s Day photo drama.
