A lot is going down in the British monarch’s family.

From King Charles being hospitalized to Prince William making rare appearances — netizens have been looking at them and noting their activities. However, the one thing trending about the family is the whereabouts of Catherine, Princess of Wales, GCVO.

Catherine, best known as Kate Middleton, is married to William, Prince of Wales, the heir apparent to the British throne. For quite some time, she has not been making public appearances, making netizens wonder where she is.

As a result, a lot of conspiracy has come up about the topic. Netizens have also dubbed it #KateGate, which is trending on Twitter.

Here is all we know about it.

Kate Middleton’s conspiracy 

The conspiracy behind Middleton started in early 2024.

Her last public appearance was on Christmas day, December 25, 2023. She was seen at Sandringham, leaving the church services at the family’s country residence north of London.

On January 17, 2024, it was revealed that the Princess of Wales had a “planned abdominal surgery” and would be hospitalized for 10 to 14 days. Kensington Palace had also announced that she would not be participating in any public engagement until Easter. 

The next day, Prince William was seen visiting his wife at the hospital. Then, on January 29, 2024, Kensington Palace announced that Middleton would return to Windsor Castle to recover and said that she was making good progress.

The next month, people started wondering where Middleton was and why there were no updates regarding her health. On February 29, 2024, a spokesman told several news sources, including Page Six and NBC News, that Kensington Palace made clear in January the timelines of the Princess’ recovery and that they would only be providing significant updates.

Then, the conspiracy started to brew alongside the memes. While some were genuinely curious about Middleton and her health, some could not help but joke about why she was hiding from the public.

Some joked that she had gotten the BBL or plastic surgery, while some claimed that she had cut her fringes and was waiting for it to grow out. After much speculation, on March 4, 2024, Middleton was pictured in the passenger seat of a car with her mother, Carole, as the two travel near Windsor Castle.

The photo was not publicized or authorized by Kensington Palace, but it was the Princess of Wales’ first public appearance since December 2023. The photo has also not been published by any major UK news site. 

But once again, netizens started scrutinizing the photo, claiming that it was altered. Some even went on to say that the person in the picture was not Middleton.

On March 5, 2024, the British Army published and removed a report that the Princess of Wales will attend their annual Trooping the Colour event on June 8, 2024, fueling fresh suspicion regarding Kate’s health. Five days later, on March 10, in celebration of Mother’s Day in the United Kingdom, Kensington Palace provides a snapshot of Middleton and her children, Prince George of Wales, Princess Charlotte of Wales, and Prince Louis of Wales.

Kate Middleton’s photo with her children that she edited. (Source: Instagram)

It was allegedly taken by Prince Williams at Kensington Palace. The photo was uploaded with the caption, “Wishing everyone a happy Mother’s Day.”

The internet went into a frenzy mode. Sleuts noted that the photo appeared altered and there were a lot of editing mistakes made. 

They came to the conclusion that the photo was fake and something had actually happened to Middleton. By Sunday evening, many major news agencies, including AP and Reuters, had removed the photograph from circulation owing to obvious alteration. 

They said that while there was no suggestion the image was fake, AP pulled the photograph from circulation because it did not meet its photo standards. Instagram, where the photo has been posted, has also given a warning that the photo is altered.

They wrote, “The same altered photo was reviewed in another post by fact-checkers. There may be small differences. Independent fact-checkers say the photo or image has been edited in a way that could mislead people, but not because it was shown out of context.”

On March 11, 2024, Middleton revealed that she was the one who edited the photo and issued an apology for it. She said, “Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing. I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused.”

However, netizens have not bought the excuse and apology that has been issued. The same day, Middleton is pictured in a car leaving Windsor Castle with Prince William, but she did not attend the Prince of Wales’ traditional Commonwealth Day ceremony at Westminster Abbey.

At the time of writing, Middleton has not given any statements. Netizens have been making memes about the situation but also have been concerned.

Many have speculated that Middleton was hiding from the press because of her husband’s infidelity. As a result, they believe that a divorce is coming soon.

However, unless Middleton speaks up about the situation, nothing can be said for sure.

Is Prince Williams cheating on Kate Middleton?

While there is no confirmation about the situation, it is reported that Prince Williams has cheated on his wife with Rose Hanbury, the Marchioness of Cholmondeley.

Hanbury married David Cholmondeley, the 7th Marquess of Cholmondeley, in 2009. They are the delighted parents of twins Earl of Rocksavage Alexander Hugh George and Lord Oliver Timothy George, born in October 2009, and Lady Iris Marina Aline, in March 2016.

Rumors began to spread in 2019 that Princess William and Rose had an affair when he was dating Middleton. The Prince and Princess of Wales apparently had a falling out with Hanbury, a former close friend of Middleton.

Despite the conjecture, the alleged affair has never been confirmed, and the royals have chosen not to comment on the allegations. The rumors resurfaced in 2022 when celeb gossip account Deux Moi shared a tip from an unknown source suggesting that an unidentified royal’s adultery was not surprising.

“This British royal’s extramarital affair is an open secret in London and amongst the English artisto set and is the talk of every party and news desk [sic],” the anonymous message revealed. “At a recent media party, I was told the real reason for the affair was the royal’s love of pegging, which the wife is far too old fashioned to engage in.”

The royal family and Kensington Palace have remained silent and have yet to comment on the second round of affair rumors.