Perhaps it was naïve of me, but I didn’t realise how many nutters were lying in the dark tunnels of social media until the Princess of Wales became ill.
Instead of allowing Kate to have her major stomach operation and then convalesce in peace, they, and some of the fruitcakes in mainstream media, demanded she show her face.
Being the star she is, and believing that service to the nation is everything, she put out a charming Mother’s Day photo with her and the kids to reassure all was well. A little photoshopping was all that was required to send the conspiracy theorists wild.
So that was another fire the Royal couple had to put out. They so they came up with a good plan. After seeing their children play sport, they would nip down last Saturday to the farm shop, a mile away from their home in Windsor.
As you would expect (and as they expected) there would be a member of the public with a phone who would take a video of the couple. And that is exactly what happened.
The Princess of Wales looked relaxed and smiling. That in itself is a miracle when you think that she is still recovering from her operation in early January and yet felt she had to give reassurance to the public and therefore was, in effect, on duty.
I suspect Prince William didn’t really want to do it, but was frustrated by the online avalanche. In fact in a briefing by him (or somebody as close to him as it makes no difference) to the Royal Editor of the Sunday Times, he said both he and his wife had been really hurt by some of the stuff on X/Twitter.
Unfortunately that video, and the screen grabs of the pair which appeared on the front pages of today’s papers, appear to have accelerated rather than diminished the cynicism of people who live their life believing everything is a conspiracy.
My X feed is full of oddballs claiming that its not Kate all. It’s a double and constantly indicating I should go to Specsavers. In my view she he has lost weight which is hardly surprising when you think of the serious abdominal operation she has been through.
One wrote; ‘’That’s not Kate.’’ Another said; ‘’Are you feeling quite well? Do you need an eye test appointment?’’ Another; ‘’It’s not her Kelvin.’’
‘’Have you actually seen the video? Nothing like her I’m afraid,’’ said a Paul Daniels.
So you see what we are up against? All very well for Putin to have a double so that he’s not the one to get assassinated but now we have a minority of the nation who believes that Buckingham Palace has hired a Kate lookalike.
There will be no to end to all this madness. After all there are still conspiracy theories about Marilyn Monroe and the assassination of John F Kennedy and that was all six decades ago.
My suggestion is that William and Kate take no more advice from the Palace comms people, don’t spend a minute on social media and revert to the phrase that did Queen Elizabeth so well; Never complain, never explain.
It’s clear that there are many in our nation who have nothing better to do (well, there are 9million economically inactive) and just want to play out some strange fantasy about the Royals.
Don’t play their game. It is important that Kate gets better. In that Sunday Times interview whoever was speaking for the Royals made it clear that the earliest she would be seen in public was after April 17, when the children return to school.
Kate had 'planned abdominal surgery' in JanuaryGettyMy bet is that she will carry out no official duties for at least a month or so after that. This has been a very serious health issue. A medical friend has speculated to me what might be the basis of the problem.
He says if his analysis is correct it will won’t be until June before she will be given the all clear to take up public duties again.
The problem for an anxious public is that they are desperate to see because she is the Royal Family’s star turn with the way she always puts people at ease with her smile and personality.
Not unreasonably they want her back on centre stage. Her health will not have been helped by this social media pile-on. I hope these people have that on their conscience.
Get well Kate.
