Speculation around Kate’s health was ‘worst I’ve ever seen’, says former advisor
The speculation and pressure around the Princess of Wales before she announced she was undergoing cancer treatment was “the worst I’ve ever seen”, Kate’s former spokesperson has said.
Paddy Harverson, who previously worked as the Princess’s official spokesperson, claimed the widespread speculation was created by a “permanent doom loop” between social media and the news media.
“Well, it feeds off itself,” Mr Harverson told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme. “And it’s the worst I’ve ever seen.”
He insisted the Palace would have gone ahead with Friday’s announcement even without the months of social media conjecture leading up to the video message.
“I’m absolutely convinced,” Mr Harverson said, “that if we hadn’t had all the madness and social media, if we hadn’t had the sort of the Mother’s Day photo mistake, they would have still done it like this.
“They would have still waited till this last Friday when the schools are breaking up to make the announcement.”
In her announcement, the Princess acknowledged it had been an “incredibly tough couple of months for [her] entire family,” asking the public for “space and privacy”.
Appearing on the same programme as Mr Haverson, the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt spoke of the princess’s “incredible stoicism”.
His comments follow Prime Minister Rishi Sunak criticising online conspiracy theorists for placing the Princess of Wales under “intense scrutiny” in the months following her abdominal surgery in January.
He also praised Kate’s “tremendous bravery” for speaking openly about her diagnosis.
Conspiracy theories began to circulate after the Princess withdrew from the public eye to recover from surgery and William missed, at very short notice, the memorial service of his godfather the late King Constantine of Greece on 27 February.
It is now understood the Prince’s decision not to attend was related to his wife’s condition, but it is not known when the Princess was told about the positive test for cancer.
Shortly afterwards, a photograph of Kate and her children with irregularities within the image was released by the Palace to mark Mother’s Day.
The Princess later admitted she had “edited” the photograph, prompting further postulation online.
Over the weekend, a number of other public figures applauded Kate’s honest disclosure, but also also called for the Royal Family’s privacy to be respected.
In a post on her Instagram, Oscar-winning actress Jamie Lee Curtis called on the public to stop peddling “conspiracy theories”, adding: “Now we should send nothing but our best wishes to her and her family and focus on our own lives.”
TV presenter Davina McCall said the Royal Family had “been through enough”. “Let’s give them some space to recover,” she said.
Other celebrities, including Hollywood actress Blake Lively, took to social media to apologise for previously mocking the Palace’s Mother’s Day photo.
It has been a turbulent year for the Royals as King Charles announced he had been diagnosed with cancer in February.
In a statement released on Friday, Buckingham Palace said: “His Majesty is ‘so proud of Catherine for her courage in speaking as she did’.
“Following their time in hospital together, His Majesty has ‘remained in the closest contact with his beloved daughter-in-law throughout the past weeks’.
“Both Their Majesties ‘will continue to offer their love and support to the whole family through this difficult time’.”
A Kensington Palace spokesperson said on Saturday evening: “The prince and princess are both enormously touched by the kind messages from people here in the UK, across the Commonwealth and around the world in response to Her Royal Highness’ message.
“They are extremely moved by the public’s warmth and support and are grateful for the understanding of their request for privacy at this time.”
