The Prince and Princess of Wales have thanked the public for the overwhelming show of support for Catherine and made another pitch for privacy while the Princess is treated for cancer.
The message from Kensington Palace over the weekend was released amid growing calls to leave the Princess alone and a round of apologies from several celebrities who engaged in intense speculation about her whereabouts.
“There were so many conspiracy theories. I’ll hold my hands up,” said Kerry Katona, a reality TV star in Britain and former singer in the band Atomic Kitten. Ms. Katona told The Sun: “Everyone thinks that they know who you are as a true person and I just feel like we’ve all gone down this rabbit hole and I got sucked in.”
American actor Blake Lively said on Instagram that she also felt awful after mocking the Princess’s absence from public view. “I made a silly post around the ‘photoshop fails’ frenzy and, oh, man, that post has me mortified today,” Ms. Lively said Saturday.
The Princess’s condition had been the subject of relentless fascination on social media for weeks after royal officials announced in January that she had been admitted to hospital for abdominal surgery. The palace offered no further details and tried to quell swirling rumours by issuing a photograph of Catherine and her three children.
The photo was taken by the Prince of Wales but caused an outcry after some of the world’s largest news agencies recalled it over allegations that it had been manipulated. Catherine later acknowledged that she altered the image.
Catherine’s video message on Friday left many critics running for cover. In a poignant statement, filmed by the BBC, the Princess announced that she was undergoing chemotherapy treatment for cancer and that her abdominal surgery was to remove what doctors believed was a non-cancerous condition.
“This of course came as a huge shock, and William and I have been doing everything we can to process and manage this privately for the sake of our young family,” she said. Palace officials said the chemotherapy began in late February.
A timeline of the Princess of Wales’s abdominal surgery, photo controversy and cancer treatment
The revelation, followed by an outpouring of public sympathy, prompted British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and others to slam those who engaged in rumourmongering. Mr. Sunak said the Princess had been “unfairly treated by certain sections of the media around the world and on social media” and he urged the public to back off.
Members of Parliament from all sides also criticized independent MP George Galloway, who recently won a by-election. Mr. Galloway had posted several conspiracy theories online and suggested at one point that Catherine might be dead.
Senior Tory MP Priti Patel, a former cabinet minister, criticized the “grossly insensitive and unkind comments” and Labour MP Margaret Hodge called Mr. Galloway’s statements “abhorrent.” “Perpetuating such vile conspiracy theories is disgraceful,” Ms. Hodge added. “Their Royal Highnesses are entitled to their privacy at this distressing time.”
Linda Yaccarino, the chief executive officer of X, echoed that view. In a post on the social-media platform, Ms. Yaccarino called the Princess brave and added, “Her request for privacy, to protect her children and allow her to move forward (without endless speculation) seems like a reasonable request to respect.”
Her comments drew a flurry of criticism from those who suggested X had been a platform for much of the abuse and speculation.
Other celebrities also weighed in. Hollywood star Jamie Lee Curtis issued a biting rebuke to speculators on Friday, telling her followers on Instagram to stop the conspiracy theories.
“This is a human being with young children, and clearly some sort of a health issue,” Ms. Curtis said just hours before Catherine’s video was released.
American author Quinn Cummings, who posted a couple of theories on Threads about the Princess’s whereabouts, also apologized for her comments. “I was wrong,” she told The Washington Post. “I took the data that was out there and said, well here are two theories, and because I am a comedy writer, they were both inherently absurd.”
Psychiatrists have also warned about the emotional pressure younger women like Catherine, who is 42, can experience after a cancer diagnosis.
“The impact of cancer on younger women is more than meets the eye,” said Nazanin Derakhshan, a professor of experimental psychopathology at the University of Reading.
“Many younger women worry about having to leave their younger children behind should the cancer progress,” Dr. Derakhshan said. “They worry about their abilities upon return to work after cancer treatment. They can experience radical menopausal symptoms due to cancer treatment.”
Catherine and William have left London for their country home in Norfolk where they will spend the Easter school break with their children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. King Charles, who is also being treated for cancer, stayed nearby at the royal estate in Sandringham after his diagnosis.
Paul Waldie