Prince William is “hurting” seeing Catherine, the Princess of Wales being “hounded” after a scandal surrounding a digitally manipulated photo and a three-month public absence, a royal expert says.
Kate sparked a storm of speculation after disappearing from public life after planned abdominal surgery in January.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Royal expert says Prince William ‘hurt’ by Kate speculation.
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As rumours grew that her health situation was much worse than the royal family was letting on, Kate attempted to quell speculation by sharing a family portrait on Mother’s Day in the UK.
But it was quickly revealed that the photograph had been altered and subsequently pulled from publication by major photo agencies, with Kate eventually releasing a statement owning up to having edited the photo.
Sunday Times royal editor Roya Nikkah has claimed Kate’s husband, Prince William, feels the current media frenzy around Kate is similar to what happened to his mother, the late Princess Diana.
Speaking on Good Morning Britain, Nikkah said William was “seeing elements” of the same intense levels of scrutiny levelled at his mother and that it was “hurting him”.
She added that the social media speculation and newspaper scrutiny was “seeping through” to, and affecting the royal couple.
“They know social media has a life of its own,” Nikkah said.
“I think for him, having seen his mother go through quite a lot of that, the hounding of his mother … I think he feels he’s seeing elements of that being repeated in terms of the demands and scrutiny over his wife, over her medical privacy.
“That’s hurting him.”
Asked if William saw a direct comparison to the way his mother was treated, Nikkah said he “definitely does” and was “very sensitive” about it.
“He always has been,” Nikkah said.
“Ever since he was a child and ever since he’s been with Catherine.”
The Prince and Princess of Wales finally appeared in public together at a farm shop near their Windsor home before taking their children to sporting activities on Monday.
Apart from two grainy paparazzi shots of Kate in cars — once with her mother, a second time with William — it was the first time Kate had been seen in public since Christmas Day.
Kensington Palace announced in January that Kate was having planned abdominal surgery in London — then there was radio silence.
Kate was not seen for the next two months and the Palace released very little information about how she was faring afterwards.
That prompted all sorts of rumours and conspiracy theories about Kate’s whereabouts and health, despite the Palace having indicated that she would not resume official duties until after Easter.
There is now some speculation that she may join the royals in an official appearance by walking to church on Easter Sunday.
Her name also appeared on a list of official attendees at the Trooping the Colour event in June, but it has since been removed.
The most recent post on the couples’ official social media channels is an acknowledgement of St Patrick’s Day on March 17.
Beneath the St Patrick’s Day post, however, most comments had very little to do with the day in question.
There were endless questions of “Where’s Kate?”, which prompted fury from some followers.
“Take care Catherine, recover well, and please don’t worry about those who have nothing better to do with their time but speculate,” one fan wrote.
“Just here for the unhinged ‘where is Kate’ content🍿,” noted another.
“So sad this stupid ‘where’s Kate’ trend,” grumbled a third.
“She is not public property.
“We love you, Princess Catherine ❤.”
