No Kate Middleton thread on the dope yet? Lets make one.
So I have been largely ignoring the brouhaha (I’m a brit living in the states for 20+ and am kind of irritated when I’m forced to read about the british royals here. I mean didn’t we have a war about this, and the “don’t have to hear about what the spoiled in-bred Germans are doing this week” side won? )
But this has drawn me in. The tl;dr is that the Princess of Wales has not been seen in public for a couple of months, since rather suddenly having to have some kind of abdominal surgery last year (allegedly planned but not actually announced very far ahead of time). Not enough to get more than a meh from me at this point.
But then the “Princess of Wales” releases this photo. Which the Internet proceeds to pick apart and claim it is fake, still meh when has random dudes on the Internet not claimed any photo was fake. But then the AP and other major press orgs followed suit. Issuing “kill notices” on the photo saying they banning its use as it’s been digitally manipulated. Further internet sleuthing revealed it’s just an older magazine cover pasted on an other photo:
This was followed by literally the most unconvincing explanation ever, allegedly from the princess herself:
“Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing. I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused. I hope everyone celebrating had a very happy Mother’s Day. C.”
Ok now I’m interested. What the actual bloody hell is going on? I seriously cannot think of a series of events that would explain this.
That Diana’s brother Charles Spencer has announced that he experienced horrible abuse as a preteen at a British boarding school? Now, that warrants attention. If this happened to Diana as well, this could explain in part her later eating disorder.
As news organizations, they are bound under photojournalism ethics not to release such photos as editorial photos. I worked for AFP way back when. Manipulating a photo like this would have me immediately terminated. Now, the person releasing the photo is not a photographer, but the news agency still has the duty to its clients to provide editorial photos, not 'shopped publicity stills. So, yes, of course they’re going to pull them.
I don’t really follow the royals, so I’m not an expert. But the first thing I thought of when I heard them use the term “abdominal surgery” was a tummy tuck. Which is actually a pretty invasive procedure that takes a while to recover from.
I wonder if they’re just not elaborating because so many people would be passing judgement on her having a cosmetic procedure?
Having kids takes it’s toll on a woman’s body, and if that’s what her surgery was, it’s totally understandable to me. But I can see the royals not wanting it out there.
I’m not sure about the old magazine cover theory, but there does seem to be something wonky going on with the hands in the photo - a missing ring for example.
But she seems like a nice person who is going through some serious health issues, and she really should just be left alone.
Thanks for that explanation. There’s also the fact that the photo was released as a sort of “proof of life” as if to say, “The princess is totally fine. Here’s how she was just a week ago.” Bad enough if there was some minor manipulation on her part but really suspicious if the magazine cover thing is true.
My first thought was having her tubes tied or a hysterectomy. I’m sure I heard that she was pregnant again right after Harry and Meghan left the country, and then that just faded away. Not sure whether it was a miscarriage or false information.
Then there was discussion that she would be happy to have more children but her husband was dead set against it. One presumes that the heir apparent cannot get a vasectomy, so I just concluded she must be doing the deed. But a tummy tuck at the same time would make sense.
Overall though, I just think she deserves a rest. It looks like the top spot is coming to them sooner than expected, and they will have a rough time of it. Let her relax for a while! And no, she doesn’t owe us any details. We can guess all we like, but it’s not really any of our business.
And it’s really not! Whatever is going on, I hope she’s going to be okay. I’ve always thought she seems like a genuinely good person, and a great Mom. I can’t imagine having to deal with the pressure and public scrutiny.
She put herself in the public eye. Maybe not understanding the full scope at the time. But she surely understands it now.
I think she probably had a cosmetic or pregnancy problem. Just a WAG.
I don’t really have a dog in the fight but if they want the talk and rumors to die down they just oughta spill it. I can’t imagine it’s a state secret or of any political concern.
Isn’t this the secretiveness that got Harry upset with them all?
It’s my understanding that she has rough pregnancies, at least once landing in the hospital with hyperemesis gravidarum, so if she and her husband have decided that three is enough and she chose a surgical option to ensure that, seems reasonable. Also really no one’s business except hers and her husband’s, IMO.
No, I’m gonna disagree there. Putting yourself in the public eye absolutely does not mean that you completely forfeit your right to privacy. No one is entitled to know a damn thing about someone else’s body, or their medical well being, unless it’s shared voluntarily by that individual. Period.
Oh, I agree. She shouldn’t have to. She doesn’t owe me any explanation. At all.
I don’t expect I’ll get one either. Unless I read it in the paper.
There are Brits who may feel differently. They actually pay for the royals. Do they not? I’m guessing here. I don’t pretend to know how all that works.
The newspapers and scandal sheets in Britain will keep on looking for clues, possibly making crap up and giving misinformation til the truth is out. I hear they can be like a dog with a bone about the royals.
I can’t bring myself to care. I like Kate and William and their kids look like good people as well. So she did a bit of editing. She obviously isn’t a professional photoshopper, but so what? Nobody was hurt. Whatever her surgery was is none of our business and William has enough on his plate with her health and his father’s cancer. They deserve some slack.
This was my assumption originally, possibly combined with some marital problems and yeah none of anyone’s business, not a story I should be hearing about on this side of the Atlantic
But then the terrible photoshop job, and then the even worse excuse. Everyone knows the princess of Wales is not dicking around on Photoshop. How does having an invasive procedure that takes a while to recover from lead to that?
I didn’t learn about it until today, because of the photoshopped image making it show up on Reddit. And I can’t overstress how much it doesn’t matter. But I also can’t just shut off my brain when I receive new info.
While I could see the royal experimenting with Photoshop to create a nice, more current pic, it doesn’t make sense to send that photo to the press except as an atrempt to mislead.
I personally doubt when made it, or sent it. I could see maybe her getting tired of the rumors and telling someone else to do somethings and then taking the blame. I could also see it being the idea of others, with the intention they would blame her if caught. But someone was clearly trying to shut down the rumors.
Now the rumors themselves? I don’t care much. I don’t see much reason to doubt that she’s in hospital recovering from some surgery. The photo makes me think she either has some medical stuff on or has a cosmetic difference.
The surgery idea that I saw that made the most sense to me was a hysterectomy, with some possible complications. But even that is just because calling it abdominal surgery sounds like the sort of thing the royals would do. I could see it being basically any surgery where her abdomen might be involved.
But, again, none of this matters. And I suspect we’ll just see her out and about again, and there won’t be any new info. We’ll only get info if there’s some sort of permanent ailment.
But releasing a photoshopped image as real is definitely fun to speculate about.
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