Internet Aims Anger at Royal Family For ‘Blaming’ Kate Middleton Over Photoshop Drama Amid Cancer Diagnosis
LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 16. Catherine, Princess of Wales at the trophy presentations after the Gentlemen's Singles Final match on Centre Court during the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club at Wimbledon on July 16, 2023, in London, England. (Photo by Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)
Several people online aimed new frustration at the royal family over the photo editing scandal now widely known as “#KateGate” after Kate Middleton announced on Fri., March 22 that she is battling cancer.
The scandal erupted earlier this month after Kensington Palace released a photo for Mother’s Day, which the U.K. celebrated on March 10, showing the Princess of Wales posing with her three children. News agencies later pulled the photo from circulation after royal watchers pointed out that it appeared to have been manipulated, a move that sparked new conspiracy theories about Kate’s health.
The palace later released a statement attributed to the 42-year-old royal that appeared to show her taking the blame for the photo that ignited the scandal. In the statement, she apologized for “any confusion” the photo had caused and admitted she does “occasionally experiment with editing.”
Now that the princess has revealed her cancer diagnosis, many people are frustrated that she took the hit for the earlier editing scandal.
“Why did Kensington Palace release the doctored photo and then throw Kate Middleton under the bus for it when they’ve presumably known this whole time that she’s dealing with cancer???” one person wondered on X.
Another X user suggested that a palace staff member could have assumed responsibility for editing the photo instead of throwing the palace’s cancer patient "under the bus."
“Wait so Kensington Palace threw a woman with cancer under the bus for that photo???” they asked. "A staffer really couldn’t have taken the heat?”
“Kate Middleton just revealed she has cancer and is undergoing chemo, which makes the palace blaming the photo editing on her even weirder,” another X user agreed. “Hopefully she gets better and hopefully their PR learns from this.”
“#KateGate” scandal aside, well wishes for the princess have already begun pouring in since she revealed her cancer diagnosis. Kate, who said she has started chemotherapy, appeared hopeful that directly addressing her diagnosis would provide the public with answers and allow her family to focus on her recovery.
“We hope that you’ll understand that, as a family, we now need some time, space and privacy while I complete my treatment,” she said.
