Something is rotten in the house of Windsor. Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales and future Queen Consort, has vanished into thin air. The official line is that she underwent “planned abdominal surgery” on Jan. 17, 2024 and is currently recovering, yet there are holes in this story big enough to drive a black Mercedes through.

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Firstly, this operation doesn’t seem to have been planned very far in advance. In late December, William and Kate were announced to be taking a trip to Italy in early 2024, so if her operation was planned, it must have been at the last minute. Beyond that, there’s the simple fact that nothing has been seen of her for 65 days and counting.

The last photos of her were taken at Christmas, and since then there have been no official images released or any unauthorized paparazzi shots. It’s notable that Charles has been heavily photographed throughout his cancer treatment and that Kate made public appearances very soon after giving birth to her children, so people are beginning to wonder why the Palace is being so bizarrely secretive. The British press has a grim and well-earned reputation for breaching the Royals’ privacy, so why are they not reporting on this at all? Shouldn’t these renowned paparazzi be able to obtain a single blurry telephoto lens shot of her leaving the hospital or arriving at her home?

Is there a chance ⏤ even a remote chance ⏤ that she passed away at some point over the last few months and they’re keeping it from us?

Schroedinger’s Kate

Theories about Kate’s vanishing act have proliferated across social media. These range from acceptance of the official line and pointing out she has a right to post-op privacy all the way to claims that she’s currently in a coma and the Palace is anxiously waiting to see if she’s ever going to wake up. Somewhere in the middle are those who believe William and Kate’s marriage has collapsed (some argue due to infidelity and some think she may be a victim of domestic violence) and that the Royals are waiting for a divorce agreement to be finalized before they announce the news to the public.

But could she really be dead? We doubt it, simply because it’s unlikely that a story this enormous could be kept under wraps for this long. If it came out that the Royal family had colluded with the British press on a gigantic cover-up, there’d be a public scandal so enormous it’d shake the pillars of the monarchy itself. Perhaps they could attempt the explanation that the family needed privacy to deal with the loss, but given that a grinning William has been pictured hanging out with Tom Cruise, it wouldn’t fly with the public.

Until the Royals release some kind of proof of life, expect the theories to grow the longer this bizarre situation goes on. Right now the story is exploding across social media, though the British press remains curiously reticent to cover it or even acknowledge that Kate has disappeared completely. Whether you’re a skeptic or busy strapping on a tinfoil hat and creating a corkboard of facts held together by red string, it’s difficult to deny that something is very definitely up with Kate.