For months, people were wondering where Catherine, Princess of Wales, better known as Kate Middleton, was. During those months, it was all shrouded in mystery, with royal staffers not knowing what was going on, the Photoshop mishap, and the blurry photos. It was all chaotic to say the least, and it came to a screeching halt when Kate announced that she was diagnosed with cancer. Many have sent messages of support for Kate, but many users on Twitter have beef with the Palace right now, specifically how they handled Kate’s absence in a PR stance.
While the Palace is known for upholding the phrase “Keep Calm and Carry On,” this just wasn’t the time, especially when someone else in the royal family had cancer, and the whole world was speculating on their safety.
Many X users tweeted about how they found the PR strategy surrounding this situation laughable and downright bad. One user tweeted, “I don’t want to comment on #KateMiddleton’s condition but as a comms/PR person – the pivot to “this is the public’s shame” and “the problem was the conspiracy theories” and not the most unreal PR disaster I’ve ever witnessed from an unreliable/dangerous institution is the point.”
Another user added, “it takes a special pr genius to fumble a situation as straightforwardly sympathetic as ;mother of young children suffers illness she shares with millions across the globe.'”
As you can see, many have called out the Palace for complicating a matter that was quite simple in hindsight. There was no body double, or something insidious going on, it was a mother of three dealing with a cancer diagnosis. Along with that, many users are still upset that Kate took the fall for the headline-making Photoshop ordeal, with many online claiming that the Palace threw her under the bus for the whole incident.
So it seems while the whole “#KateGate” debacle is over, many have more questions, especially for their PR team.’
Not much is known about the Palace’s PR team, but the last thing the public heard was back in the summer of 2022, when Prince William and Kate hired a new head of PR strategy, Lee Thompson, who was hired after their original head, Victoria O’Byrne, left, per Tatler. It’s unclear if he’s still at the Palace or not.
Before you go, click here to see more photos of Prince William & Kate Middleton through the years.
