MANILA, Philippines – What’s the deal with the Kate Middleton photo and why are there so many conspiracy theories about her?

The last public appearance of Catherine, the Princess of Wales, was on Christmas Day 2023 with her husband and children. On January 17, 2024, Wales released a statement saying Kate had been admitted to the hospital for a planned abdominal surgery.

The lack of information about her recovery, and her absence from the public eye became fodder for conspiracy theories. These were only exacerbated by the release of a manipulated photo of Kate and her children for Mother’s Day in the United Kingdom on Sunday, March 10.

The image was distributed by wire services the Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, and Reuters, alongside Getty Images. The outlets later released kill notifications retracting the photo from its services.

Following the take down, the Princess of Wales apologized for any confusion the photo caused.

Rappler multimedia producer Cara Angeline Oliver breaks down how the conspiracy theories began. – Rappler.com

Presenter/producer: Cara Angeline Oliver
Video editor: Jen Agbuya
Videographer: Jeff Digma
Graphics: Marian Hukom, Alejandro Edoria
Supervising producer: Beth Frondoso