Kate Middleton pic ‘hid deeply painful fact’ and reveals how ‘fragile’ royals are
Photographs of Kate Middleton during what would be her last official engagement to date “hid a deeply painful truth” a royal commentator has said.
Daniela Elser was referring to the snaps of the Princess of Wales’ walk to St Mary Magdalene Church on Christmas Day 2023, accompanied by Prince William and their three children.
Dressed up and and smiling, it would be impossible to glean from the photos that darker months lie ahead for the family, which would see Kate go into hospital for abdominal surgery before announcing she had cancer.
READ MORE: Prince William needs to ‘check priorities’ amid ‘incredibly difficult’ marriage decision
Click for more of the latest news from across the world from the Daily Star.
(Image: Getty Images)
Elser said the images revealed how “fragile” the royals are. Writing for news.com, Elser said: “What none of us knew at the time, and not even Kate herself, was that the photos of that outing hid a deeply painful truth.
“To me, they represent just how fragile and how vulnerable the Royal Family was, except we had no idea at the time.”
She suggests the photographs of the extended Royal Family on their customary Christmas outing were an unconscious “deceptive visual”.
(Image: UK Press via Getty Images)
Elser said: “The meaning we were meant to draw it – of a family that had weathered years of storms and come out the other side as game as ever to visit a Welsh community centre – has now turned out to be largely illusory.”
The royal expert added five months on from the Christmas Day walk, the photographs of Kate take on a “whole new layer of meaning” especially since this coming week marks an anniversary of sorts – 150 days since Kate’s last royal engagement.
Elser said: “There was nothing then – nor even discernible now with a gimlet eye – to suggest what would lie ahead for the princess, no hint that barely three weeks later she would be tucked up in a hospital bed in London for planned abdominal surgery.
(Image: PA)
“And there was certainly no clue that lurking somewhere were malignant cancer cells, whose presence would later be found by her medical team.”
Kate Middleton would be admitted into hospital for a planned abdominal surgery on January 16, 2024. She was expected to step back from royal duties until after Easter while she recovered.
However, following months of intense speculation and rumours about her health, whereabouts and the state of the Wales’ family life, Kate shared her cancer diagnosis to the public in a video statement on March 22, 2024.
Click for more of the latest news from across the world from the Daily Star
