Kate Middleton’s Recovery Has Sparked a ‘Ludicrous’ Coma Conspiracy Theory Aides Flatly Denied
Where is Kate Middleton? That’s the question the internet’s been asking a lot as rumors fly about the Princess of Wales’ whereabouts as she recovers from surgery. One conspiracy theory — or should we say “Katespiracy” — attempted to answer the question, citing a medically induced coma. However, royal aides quickly shut down the idea, calling it “total nonsense.”
The Kate Middleton coma conspiracy theory explained
Kate underwent a “planned” abdominal surgery on Jan. 16, 2024, with Kensington Palace announcing the news a day later. She then spent nearly two weeks recovering before leaving to continue recuperating at Adelaide Cottage, the Wales family home in Windsor, England.
Kate’s last public appearance before surgery happened on Christmas Day 2023. She, Prince William, and their three children, along with other British royals, took part in the traditional walk to church.
Since then, however, not even a behind-the-scenes photo of Kate, a move a commentator recommended to quash rumors, has materialized.
This is where the Kate coma conspiracy theory comes in. Spanish journalist Concha Colleja told viewers of her Fiesta TV show she’d “spoken to an aide from the Royal Household in a completely off-the-record manner,” (via The Times of London).
They claimed, she said, Kate’s life “was in great danger.”
“The doctors had to take drastic decisions at that moment because of the complications that arose,” Colleja added, saying “the decision was to put her in an induced coma” and “intubate.”
“There were serious complications that they didn’t expect because the operation went well,” she claimed. “But the postoperative period didn’t go so well.”
A royal aide called the Kate coma conspiracy theory ‘total nonsense’
In early February 2024, shortly after The London Clinic discharged Kate and she returned home to Adelaide Cottage to continue recuperating, a royal aide addressed the coma conspiracy theory. And let’s just say they didn’t mince words.
“It’s total nonsense,” the aide told the U.K.’s The Times. “No attempt was made by that journalist to fact-check anything that she said with anyone in the household.”
“It’s fundamentally, totally made-up, and I’ll use polite English here: it’s absolutely not the case,” they concluded.
They echoed the comments to Newsweek. Kate’s “team” described the claim as “ludicrous and not fact-checked by Kensington Palace.”
The palace has released few updates on Kate’s condition since the surgery
Kensington Palace has stayed largely quiet on how Kate’s doing in the wake of her “planned” abdominal surgery. However, that’s to be expected given their original statement on Jan. 16, 2024, announcing Kate’s hospitalization.
In it, the palace outlined Kate’s desire to “maintain as much normality for her children as possible.” (Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, 5, didn’t visit the hospital because of school.) Therefore, they’d only be issuing updates on “significant new information.”
At the time of writing, the most recent update came on Feb. 27, 2024. Following an announcement William backed out of a memorial service due to a “personal matter,” the palace shared Kate “continues to be doing well.”
Per the palace’s initial statement, Kate’s expected to be out of the public eye and on a break from royal duties until Easter or March 31, 2024.
