The photo above ^ is from January 18th, when Prince William was seen leaving The London Clinic after visiting his wife. This is the only time he’s been photographed around the London Clinic, leaving some of us (myself included) wondering if William has only visited his wife in the hospital once in the past week. I was under the belief that the media had set up camp outside the London Clinic and that they would get photos of all of William’s visits and visits from Kate’s family. But now Hello Magazine says that the media was only allowed outside the hospital on that one day (the 18th) and they haven’t been allowed back.
The Princess of Wales has been quietly recovering in hospital since she underwent successful abdominal surgery on Tuesday last week. And while members of the press were allowed to report from outside The London Clinic on the day that Kensington Palace announced Kate’s health news, media have not been allowed to station themselves outside the Marylebone hospital since.
So much secrecy has surrounded the Princess’ hospital stay and lengthy recovery. This is unlike when Kate was expecting Prince George in 2013, and reporters and photographers spent weeks camping outside The Lindo Wing of St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington, waiting for news of the royal baby’s birth. The media frenzy was even dubbed the ‘Great Kate Wait’.
The then Duke and Duchess of Cambridge learnt from this experience and for the following two births of their children, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, media were only invited down to the hospital once Kate was in labour.
“When the royal children were born it was a moment for celebration and there was a controlled arrangement in place for the media to be outside the Lindo Wing to report on it,” Emily Nash, HELLO!’s royal editor, explained of the press presence. Explaining the lack of media presence outside the hospital, Emily added: “This is a different situation to the royal children’s births, and you have to consider the privacy of other patients coming in and out for treatment as well as that of the Princess.”
This actually answered some big questions I had about the lack of photos around the London Clinic and the lack of reporting on who is visiting and when. It feels like Kensington Palace authorized the media scrum set up last week, with the promise that they would get photos of William in his Audi. It actually makes perfect sense that this is the compromise worked out: KP would stage the photos with William last week with the understanding that the media give William and Kate space and time beyond that. Now, I’m surprised that media outlets haven’t put up a fight about it, but I’m sure deals are being made behind the scenes for how this is being managed at a comms level. Still, I’m glad Kate is being given the space and privacy to recover in peace. I always hated that she had to do those post-birth photocalls so quickly.
Photos courtesy of Cover Images.
Yes. It made zero sense to think that William and her parents and siblings were not visiting.
I didn’t think of it at all 😏😏😏
Hard to visit when she isn’t there.
You know, @ArtFossil, you might be right. She might not even be at the hospital at all. She might be somewhere they don’t want anyone to know about like a specialized hospital or they would figure out exactly what is wrong with Kate.
I do find it strange her family isn’t doing a papwalk when they are notorious for it.
Agree @ArtFossil. Kate isn’t there and most likely hasn’t been for weeks. Turtle shell game. Will’s photo op isn’t what we’re suppose to think it was.imo
It’s not faux concern. I truly hate when children are suppose to suppress their feelings to accommodate the insecurities and bs behavior by their supposed loving parents. It’s not healthy to pretend this thing didn’t happen. Apparently, that isn’t the MO for the BRF or Will,,, who enacted a smear campaign against his brother’s wife.
I also think she was never at the London Clinic. They might have been able to shoo away the British media, but there is media from all over the world. Also the sidewalks are public. The media would do anything to get photos because they are worth a lot of money.
Even with the cameras only being allowed there for a day, one would still expect to *hear* about additional visits from William, the Middletons etc. in an article…especially since the press has been lavishing praise on him being an amazing, supportive husband (lol). KP would’ve absolutely briefed about more visits from William either way, but they haven’t.
Like…I don’t think I’ve even read mention of any of the Middletons visiting her, which is *really* something, given how often they love to run to the press.
True. These people love to be papped and praised for existing.
Too much secrecy. Too cagey. This is getting weirder and weirder.
I’ve made the same comment several times. It’s telling that no one saying that they have visited her. Is it because they haven’t or because they can’t give an honest update as in she looks well or said she is looking forward to going home? Or it’s all a ruse and she is not at the hospital. No Dr name. It’s sounding all made up.
@Lulu, agreed. I think she may have been there briefly but think she has since been flown to a treatment center elsewhere. Hence, no visits/dr names/photos etc.
The Middletons would have said they visited her through their sources photos or not. They haven’t because she isn’t allowed visitors.
The Middletons if this was a regular recovery from abdominal surgery would have by now put out a message to Camilla tominey that Kate is doing well etc.
Exactly this – they don’t need actual photos to run sympathetic stories about visits, cards, flowers, etc. These are some of the most attention-hungry people in the world and we’re supposed to believe that they’re not milking this because of “decency”? lol yea right.
Exactly this…….”the children have drawn pictures to brighten up her room!” “Mother Middleton has been swinging by daily to cheer Kate on and encourage her recovery”.
ITA that its especially telling that her family are not running their mouths off the media – something is not right and makes you think what are they hiding. I think the Mids have gone quiet as this has not gone the way the expected it to – the backlash has been quite something.
All of this.
Yeah when a lot of the comments in the the UK tabloid press are that she’s lazy and doesn’t work and how would anyone notice she’s not there, along with how out of touch it all is when the average person would be financially stressed etc – I’m sure the Wales/Middleton camp is shocked….
exactly – even in this story I would expect to see “the lack of cameras means that William’s and the Middletons’ visits can go undetected, as they are all visiting the Princess on a regular basis.”
And honestly, I think its weirder that they set up the photographers for one day to get one picture of William and then that’s it. Why even release the name of the hospital at all?
There is definitely a deal going on here between KP and the RRs and it can’t be just that one picture of William.
Right? Whatever deal is being made, he’s gonna have to promise more than one photo. Maybe scoops and details about something big that’s coming up in the future….hmmm what could that be about? Pics of the kids or stories about them writing their mum letters in the hospital is not going to cut it this time.
YES! All they need is that sentence in your first paragraph! That they apparently went through all the trouble of staging a photo op when they could have simply said one sentence is such a red flag.
You don’t typically have to stage a cover up if there’s nothing to cover up!
The Middletons have been shut up and told to stay out of the photos. It seems like William wants to control everything about this story. There is no real reason why the Middletons shouldn’t be photographed or CarolE isn’t telling CamelToe that Kate is on the mend and FaceTiming her children. Kate is always portrayed as the Mother of the Year … but now its crickets.
Something is broken between William and the Middletons, that is obvious. There are so many rumours that a breakdown happened due to a divorce and Kate’s not at the London Clinic. It could be that the Middletons refuse to play along with William anymore because the worst has happened.
Lol. Do you really believe that?
REALLY???? Like, how convenient when people in the internet are asking why the hell reporters haven’t seen or heard William visiting his wife past that one day. Hmmm. Okay /: Maybe cause he is the reason why she is in the hospital for *maybe, allegedly, perhaps* mental issues, and he is not allowed to see her.
I still maintain the belief that the only reason he was in the hospital was to sign paper works and talk to the doctors, but he’s no longer allowed to have contact with Kate until she recovers.
Why would William need to sign papers?
NDAs, billing info, I don’t know. It should b done by staff but theirs are amateurs, plus maybe Peg has secret bank accounts 😀
Pr he could have wanted to talk wizh doctors about prognosis, timelines etc
In the US, if an adult is having a mental health crisis, a next of kin might be able to sign what’s called a 5150 – an involuntary admit to a psych unit for up to 72 hours for an evaluation. I don’t know what the UK equivalent is, but if it’s similar, William might have had to sign something.
The UK calls it being sectioned and it can only be done by an immediate family member which in this case is William. He supersedes her parents.
The website also states that someone can be assessed for up to 28 days when they are sectioned.
As if paparazzi are just going to run away from a photo that would make them money.
KP handled this so poorly they made this a big story. No pap is running around looking for Charles going to the hospital. But they will definitely want to catch who is visiting kate and this mysterious ailment.
Right – so let me get this straight. Will, who we’re being told is bewildered about his wife being in hospital and needing surgery, on the actual day that would have been *peak bewilderment* for him, he somehow found the time to organize and stage an entire photo op, but also somehow can’t do so much as a zoom call for the next 4 months because something something hands-on parenting?
And also, the paps are totally always respectful of people, it’s a hallmark of the industry. Especially British paps, definitely no payouts needed to get them to play along.
And this is the coverup story they came up with because people were rightly calling them out about just the one visit. As usual, they would have been better off just saying nothing, because this is a whole mess.
And it’s not even paps. There’s no one around with an iphone who can get a picture of William or the Middletons entering? That kind of photo might not get published in the DM but it would certainly make the rounds on social media.
@becks come to think of apart from when Willy was throwing a tantrum whilst cycling on a country road there are no candid shots of that family, where as the tinternet is full of candid shots of Meghan and Harry in Montecito. Maybe if one gets caught there is a hefty penalty
I wasn’t inclined to believe the people who said she wasn’t even at the London clinic, but considering the fact no one from the public has seen visitors outside of the scheduled William PR shots? I may have to rethink that.
I don’t think she’s in there. It’s all a ruse.
Imagine owning this hospital or being high enough up to be in the know. Now imagine Kate is not there and reading the RF saying she is there for 10-14 days. That would be wild. I can’t wrap my head around her not actually being there. It feels like a step too far. But it is the BRF and the Windsors so who the F knows.
Mighty convenient we’re hearing about this so-called arrangement after days of people wondering WTF no one has seen people visiting. Just like it was convenient they got pics of Will after a day of people wondering WTF was going on.
Insert the Anchorman “I don’t believe you” giphy lol. These people are lying liars who lie. And they’re not very bright, either.
So I will say, it is noticeable that so many ideas that get discussed here in the comments or on SM get picked up or countered in the BM a few days later. That’s how far they are on the back step. It’s a lot of reaction rather than action. They are floundering and deal-making as we speak. No wonder William can’t do engagements right now. Bet he’s doing a lot of undercover working right now just to get the media onside.
I found the naming of the hospital suspicious from the very beginning of this story! Why do it? Charles didn’t. It wasn’t necessary. I believe it was staged from day one. They wanted people to believe that Kate is in this particular hospital (known for the kind of surgery that she “had”), thus calling the Rota and having a photo of William “visiting “her. I’m now convinced that she’s somewhere else, possibly to a clinic specialized for mental issues. I’m sure that if Kate’s condition hadn’t any bad optics they would definitely made it public to gain sympathy. The fact that there’s zero details about this is very telling.
Photo op outside hospital to make Peg look like a devoted caring husband ✔️. I wonder if this will be included in his calendar of things done. I’m sure the other people in this hospital are grateful the press is no longer around or are they hiding somewhere?
Wouldn’t the even better photo be of The Devoted Dad? Walking into the hospital with their two eldest children, maybe holding Charlotte’s hand, as they visit the stricken mother? The PR value to him of that would be enormous.
It sure would be but Peg isn’t that guy and if she is receiving therapy for a mental illness visitation is very controlled.
Agree. I think her condition is much worse than what they’re trying to convince use it is. A couple of days after the surgery she should be ok-ish enough to see her kids. I sadly suspect she looks bad/injured/disfigured or is unfit mentally and it could be too much for kids. Because otherwise we would have nauseating amount of pictures or cute stories of kids bringing her drawings and Wills visiting. Also silence from Midds tells me that they might actually be more concerned about their daughter’s health than interested in PR points, maybe first time since the “catch the prince” project began.
I’m no conspiracy theorists but I get the feeling Kate’s situation is very serious and it’s not that obvious if or when she fully recovers. I hope she does.
The people who read Hello magazine will believe this but cmon. I just saw a video of Anne travelling to her event yesterday and its a whole big procession which includes police on motorcycle. I get that the tabloids have made deals with the palaces but I do not believe for one second there aren’t people hovering around that hospital hoping to get a photo or video of the Middletons, William and/or the kids. I get that it has a private entrance but we would see the cars on the road getting to that private entrance. Ok dear lord I need to walk about from my computer and get some actual stuff done lol I sound like a conspiracy theorist.
Well no one got any pictures of Kate checking into the hospital for surgery so who knows. I do wonder if there’s some sort of garage or back entrance that they typically use for privacy, and maybe Williams visit which was mostly staged as part of a media arrangement was in the front door only for the pictures. Even if William isn’t visiting her regularly, I find it hard to believe that she hasn’t had a visit from her parents and/or siblings, so I’m guessing there is some type of garage or back door that’s being used?
There are no pics of her checking in because no one knew she was there checking in. Till the statement it was a well-known private hospital with patients. Now it’s a well-known private hospital with a well-known patient, so a stake-out makes only now sense.
The only hint that something was up is the convoy from 28th Dec and even that is only now apparent with all the context and only now is it obvious it was Kate. No pap will stake out a hospital on the slim chance to see someone check in.
It is not believable that a paparazzi isn’t still stationed at the hospital vicinity to try and catch visits from the back entrance. This is a big story for them and pictures would be worth a lot.
The more likely reason is that she isn’t allowed to have visits right now.
Even if the British paps are playing ball where are my American and European paps…….cmon. This is cleanup from people online talking about the lack of visits.
Or even just the average person with a phone–dog walkers, delivery people, folks who work on that street, clients of other businesses on that street, etc., etc.
CarolE can call the paps too. She only has to call one pap and have him stationed a few blocks from the hospital while she is driven by slowly enough to roll down her car window and flash her concerned face while holding a big arrangement of Kate’s favorite flowers.
I’ve noticed the fail crops the pic of William now so the car behind is not visible. The pic of Kate in the blue dress is concerning as it is so baggy when she strictly has clothes tailored skin tight. She must have had a weight loss between tailoring and when the pic was taken.
Have we heard from any of those papers yet why Christian Jones was in the car behind Bulliam’s Audi? Didn’t he quit some time ago, to work with some private equity?
And why is sexiest Baldy alive driving a car fit for a newly single man on the prowl?
And since when have the paps cared for privacy? Why is that holding them back all of a sudden, when they hired helis and drones to go after H&M?
Because William has a quid pro quo with the media and agrees to do things like the arranged photo of his driving up to the hospital to visit Kate. And also he probably leaks them other info about other members of the royal family, so the media will play along with his rules.
I think some “Squaddies” are mistaken. That wasn’t Christian Jones. It was a RPO in the car behind William.
Where is your proof it is an RPO?
The photo of that vehicle is now conveniently cropped.
So that one day the other patients’ privacy wasn’t an issue? People who stand around where they aren’t wanted holding up white cards can be cleared out faster than that, why couldn’t the media?
There is a photo embargo in the Uk about this but it is awfully strange that the paparazzi haven’t sold photos of William or the Middletons to foreign publications especially in Europe.
And there is definitely no way the kids have visited because that would be money for the paparazzi and they would be able to sell it even if the UK media is colluding again.
Hello is pretending that is why we haven’t seen William more than once. The real reason is she isn’t allowed long visits because of the treatment she is getting. And no abdominal surgery recovery would be this restrictive in recovery.
Will the rr ever forgive kp if this has all been a big lie? No wonder bp is staying out of it and giving full details about Charles surgery.
Oh god, stand by for the Mills and boon moment when Kate looking all wan pale but still uninteresting, thanks everyone for careing.
Hopefully people will ask, “and who are you again”?
I expect them to arrange for KittyKat to attend an event where she gets a standing ovation, for, wait for it, breathing.
I’m certain that she would definitely be applauded during trooping for recovering…
Maybe she’ll step out of the hospital to do a photo op where she hikes up her hospital gown…
I was just thinking about them arranging a hospital photo op a bit like the one they did with her on the phone at her tiny desk with all the expensive books at the back.
The hospital in located in central London, surrounded by a series of one way streets. All the press has to do is hang around on any of the corners to be able to spot the comings and goings. If it was William there will be outriders stopping traffic at all the junctions and a motorcade of 3 or 4 cars. I live in London and you can see very easily when VIPs are travelling around, so not hard to spot William visiting the hospital!
I think they don’t want the press there either because she isn’t there, and or William is not visiting.
Even their lies are so dumb. Everyone has a phone now this is not at all believable. This is getting dragged online so I’m curious what their next pivot will be.
Thank you for insider knowledge! Count me among the people who believe nobody’s been visiting, and William only drove there for a quick ‘everything alright?’ & then left.
What a load of bollocks. So they’re trying to say the British press that will go to extraordinary lengths to get everything from stupid gossip to actual things people should know just complied with not being “allowed” to film on a public street when there’s no law against it.
So unlawful information gathering is cool (no, I don’t believe they’ve completely stopped doing it) but legally filming on the street they won’t do because it might hurt William’s feels? GMAFB.
Look I’m fine Kate, if she’s actually even in the hospital, isn’t feeling harassed by the press on a private medical matter (must be nice eh?) But that’s beside the point.
I’m with you on this one…
Yep, me, too. This is beyond the pale.
Who can forget the meltdown that was had, and the level of abuse that Meghan endured because, immediately after giving birth, she didn’t strut down the Lindo wing steps after giving birth? Quite frankly, Kate contributed to this atmosphere by sneaking her makeup artist into the hospital after every birth, and then showing up for a photo call. I recall Diana saying that after those appearances, she cried on the way home.
Let’s not forget how kate did a podcast interview after Meghan got dragged for not doing a photocall and did not support her sister in law. Instead she said some nonsense about it being “important”.
If there was any confirmation pre Oprah interview that kate was an insidious bitch throwing her own sister in law under the bus, that what it.
This explains why William turned up behind the wheel of an Audi sports car. I hope this is not the case, but I imagine the press may be invited to take photos of Kate when she leaves the hospital.
It actually doesn’t explain it because this article clearly says that they were only allowed to take photos on the day that the palace announced her successful surgery. Her surgery was Tuesday. The palace announced her successful surgery on Wednesday, so the photos of William visiting her should have been on Wednesday, but he visited her on Thursday. How were they able to photograph William leaving the hospital on Thursday when they say they were only allowed the one day which was Wednesday when the announcement was made?
The worst part about this is it’s not even a believable lie. The British press, famously respecting people’s boundaries. Ok.
They’re trying to shift goalposts and focus on lack of photos. Nobody’s demanding pics of Kate in her hospital bed, it’s just that having literally zero reporting about Kate receiving visitors or cards or flowers is a neon red flag that something in the milk isn’t clean here.
And it’s not like they’re not reporting on Kate, they are, but they don’t have any actual info so there’s no *there* there. It’s different than a usual Kate embiggening campaign; they’ve left out all the embiggening! These are definitely not typical Kate comms – I think Will’s team is handling Kate’s messaging (which should be notable in itself).
Actually, there was an article on Fail, I think, mentioning that she received hundreds of cards with wishes for recovery… the number itself is very telling about the “most” popular member to the royal family.
that’s what so odd about all of this. Look everyone on this here gossip site is familiar with the Kate conventions, and we were all expecting the sachriny sweet articled about the kids visiting mummy, drawing her pictures, the Mids being there for her and William or something like that, and some sympathy articles about how this is affecting the kids etc. Where is all that??? Where is the Keenery? The fact that every article is just these weird nonsensical logistical briefings and barely anything narrative? Just so odd.
Lol, where is the keenery? Good question. The keening is low.
The press weren’t allowed to camp out front (or back) of the hospital. But what about members of the public? They surely must be allowed to walk past. I’m quite sure there are ardent royal fans who would be willing to wait all day to catch a glimpse of William or the Middletons. Following, something would have been reported on SM. The police can’t stop the public from observing at a distance.
She’s not there and was never there. That is the only logical conclusion. The whole thing was a setup to cover for wherever she actually is.
That’s my theory, too, M.
She may well be in the Swiss clinic Charlene stayed in, for all we know! The London Clinic is a giant red herring.
Why isn’t the press interviewing hordes of the British public camped outside with candles to honor the people’s princess?
That’s a basic easy news component that violates no privacy.
It’s not happening because the public isn’t out en masse like they would have been for Diana and that runs the narrative the British press have been selling. I’m surprised the Midds/British press aren’t paying actors to stage a vigil.
These paps have long lenses that can photograph a fly on a barn door from 5 miles away, so merely shutting down the street to the back entrance of the hospital doesn’t add up. This is one of the biggest coverups since Marilyn Monroe’s suicide and the alleged Kennedy involvement in it. The fact that there aren’t flowers being placed outside the hospital or visits from family or comments from the Midds (Uncle Gary must be champing at the bit to bloviate to the press) speaks volumes. Everyone’s circled the wagons and gone silent. I still think Kate must have had some sort of massive breakdown, maybe even threatened suicide and was taken to another facility. Helicopters are in and out of hospitals constantly, it wouldn’t be hard to get her out in relative secrecy. I have no idea what may have precipitated it, we’ve all opined about a huge fight with Bulliam, but her physical and mental state have been seriously compromised and the press have been told to stay schtum and keep with the abdominal surgery storyline. But secrets like these are hard to keep — someone’s going to be offered a tempting amount of money to spill, it’s only a matter of time.
I hope you are joking. The BRF is not that important on the world stage as were the Kennedys and Kate is not an icon like Marilyn Monroe.
I wasn’t equating Kate to an icon like MM or that the BRF is hugely important on the world stage. In fact the BRF is entirely irrelevant but they’re still a big deal press-wise. I merely stated that the COVERUP was that big and complex involving many levels besides the BRF from the palace courtiers to the hospital to the government.
My feeling is she’s been at home recovering for quite some time now and the timescales have been mucked around with, for what purpose I don’t know.
I think that makes the most sense.
sparrow, I agree. She’s going to take a long time to recover, because she can, and she won’t have to work.
Hmm. Well I went right by the hospital on Tuesday and there were definitely some press hanging about. I couldn’t say whether they were “official” but they were there. They were not at the front door but actually positioned at the mews road round the back of the hospital, which leads to the more private entrance (going by the photos of PW’s visit, it looked like he was leaving via this route – and this would be route by which Kate leaves). It’s not really that private, given it’s in a built up area in the centre of London.
Maybe they are just not reporting? Perhaps members of the public don’t care enough to wait around for someone to visit Kate?
And there are residential properties in that mews so people around who can’t be moved on by any security etc.
You know, this is a really good point. They protect the heir at all costs. no one else. I think any protection of Kate over the past 12 years came from William – not out of love, but out of a feeling of “she’s attached to me so she gets protection too.” I dont think Charles’ health information was released to distract from Kate, that never made sense to me.
but it makes sense if its to distract from whatever William is doing (or did.) him taking months off to support her never made sense. Maybe he’s the one going to rehab?
Becks1, there’s also the possibility that they’re both in rehab. I’m not jumping on the bandwagon that the brf/bm are creating. Why believe them now?
Was that the deal to only stay outside the hospital one day just in time to photograph William visiting his lovely wife?
I know it’s semantics but her surgery was on Tuesday, KP released a statement about the surgery, hospital name and how long she would be there but unlike this article William wasn’t photographed the same day as the statement. It doesn’t make since that they would only be given one day to take a photo and it was only of him leaving the hospital. Not him arriving or even entering the hospital. This only confirms that they have a definite contract where they give the media photos as long as they push a narrative. This reminds me of the Flybe photos used to abuse Harry and Meghan for protecting their child by flying in Elton’s plane that offsets carbon emissions. It never made sense that they claimed they flew on this plane but no one actually saw them or photographed them until they were walking the tarmac carrying their own luggage.
That Flybe photos used to abuse Harry and Meghan was so bad Elton John felt the need to make a statement just to make it stop.
I’m confused: this is something the palace can arrange with the press? The public/ government/ hospital has no say in whether the press can camp outside a hospital, indefinitely? Patient privacy wasn’t a concern for other mothers giving birth around the time Kate was, to George?