Britain's William, Prince of Wales, Catherine, Princess of Wales, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis and Mia Tindall arrive to attend the Royal Family's Christmas Day service at St. Mary Magdalene's church, as the Royals take residence at the Sandringham estate in eastern England, Britain December 25, 2023.(Photo: IC)

Where is Kate? The public absence of the Princess of Wales has grown beyond Kensington Palace and the UK from being simply a British royal tittle-tattle to an issue under international spotlight, as some Chinese observers put it, sparking Chinese netizens to wonder if she is facing the same fate of Princess Diana and question the bewildering maneuvering of the royal family.

Kate Middleton, the 42-year-old wife of Prince William and mother of their three children, made her last official public appearance on last year’s Christmas as she walked into church with members of the royal family.

So far, Kensington Palace has issued only two updates on Kate's health, according to media reports. She was admitted to the London Clinic on January 16, according to a Kensington Palace statement the next day, which also revealed that Kate has a “successful” surgery that she was expected to remain hospitalized for 10 to 14 days before returning to the family's home to recover. 

On January 29, Kensington Palace issued an update, stating that Kate had been discharged from the hospital.

Online speculation started to surface in February regarding Kate’s well-being, as she hadn’t made a public appearance since and William were forced to drop out of a royal engagement due to what the palace said was a "personal matter." 

On March 4, Kate was reportedly photographed in a car with her mom, but the photo was not released or authorized by Kensington Palace. Speculation mounted as the woman in the car “does not have the mole Kate has.” 

Another dramatic moment was on March 10, Kate shared a photo on her personal account of herself smiling and surrounded by her three kids, to mark Mother’s Day in the UK. The post credited William as the photographer. 

Nonetheless, multiple parts of the photo were suspected to be edited and some netizens suspected the entire photo was generated by artificial intelligence. Several major news agencies, including Associated Press, Reuters and AFP, later pulled the image from circulation for apparent manipulation. One day later, Kate herself issued an apology in text form for doing “experiment with editing” and causing confusion.

Observer held that filming a short video for 20 seconds could have dispelled speculations, but “duty-fulfilling” Kate did not, further fueling conspiracy theories, including whether Kate’s physical or mental health situation does not allow her public appearance. 

British talk show host John Oliver even joked that Kate “could have died 18 months ago.” A new theory is that Kate’s disappearance is related to unsubstantiated rumors that Prince William had an affair.

The “Gone girl” drama in the British royal family has also become a trendy topic on China’s social media platform. On Sina Weibo, an ongoing poll on “what do you think happened to Princess Kate” found 4,900 out of 8,000 (61 percent) on Saturday respondents thought she “probably had died,” while 20 percent thought she suffered physical illness and 9 percent believed it was a mental situation. 

Another popular speculative theory was that Kate is determined to divorce due to William’s affairs and no longer cooperates in royal duties. 

The slew of conspiracies may keep circulating for a while, but a common sentiment is that “great uncertainty” is surrounding the monarchy right now and “There’s no such thing as a fairytale life.” 

Since the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022, British royal family has been involved in a series of scandals, including Prince Harry and his wife Megan Markle’s breakup from the royal family. 

The monarchy was used to be a symbol of the strength and solidarity of the UK. But amid Kate’s disappearance, the old questions emerged again: does a modern state like the UK really needs monarchy? Does royal family bring about more pride or tax and reputation burdens to British people? 

Analysts noted the era of glorious empire has long gone, and the UK is struggling in aftermaths of Brexit, cost-of-living crisis and waning presence in international occasions. Many commonwealth countries are eager to bid farewell to the British monarchy. 

The criticism inside the UK triggered by Kate’s mysterious disappearance is just an epitome of the public dissatisfaction and other countries’ spectator mind-set mirrored the fall of the former empire. 

Global Times