As we discussed, this week’s People Magazine cover story is all about the fragility of the British monarchy and how even old-guard monarchists want the Windsors to disclose more about their medical conditions. People’s piece is more focused on King Charles and how the head of state has a constitutional duty to disclose his health and medical issues – weirdly, those people never had the same energy for the late QEII, but whatever. Then at the end of People’s piece, they included the conspiracies and online speculation about the Princess of Wales’s health.

Meanwhile, the lack of clarity surrounding Princess Kate’s abdominal surgery has left a vacuum filled with conspiracy theories about her health and whereabouts.

Although the palace specified that the Princess of Wales was not expected to return to public duties until after Easter, they’ve been forced to issue brief statements about her well-being during recovery in response to rumors. Kate has only been spotted once since the procedure — riding in a car with her mother, Carole Middleton, on March 4.

King Charles and Princess Kate’s time out of the spotlight means it’s been largely up to Queen Camilla, 76, and Prince William, 41, to step up as the faces of the monarchy. While the Queen has stepped in for her husband on numerous occasions in recent weeks, the Prince of Wales has also made public appearances a priority after taking time away to care for his wife and children during her recovery.

“His focus is on his work and not on social media,” a spokesman says.

[From People]

While I applaud People for at least getting William’s spokesperson on the record with that bitchy, arrogant reply, I do have to ask… um, what work?? William’s focus is on his work, which he doesn’t do because he’s focused on Kate’s recovery, which he can’t focus on because of work. The perfect circle! Meanwhile, he’s probably balls-deep in rose bushes for all we know. Speaking of, there’s absolutely a feeling that Kate and the Middletons are trying to push back on all of the conspiracies. Robert Jobson even got a hot tip that Kate’s recovery is going well:

Royal author Rob Jobson told Hello!: “From what I hear, Kate has got into a routine again and is functioning well, but she doesn’t want to rush things. I have spoken to people close to her and I think she is recovering well but is not quite one hundred per cent.”

He claimed that King Charles is keen to make the focus of the royal family on him, Queen Camilla, Prince William and Kate, and having “two of the star people out of the picture makes that more difficult.”

Rob said that Kate will be warmly welcomed back when she is well enough to return to duties, but currently feels “lucky” to be able to spend time with her family and focus on her recovery.

Meanwhile, Hello!’s royal editor Emily Nash added that Kate’s kids, Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, eight, and Prince Louis, five, will be helping her through this time. She wrote: “Kate may not have been on the school run or at sport matches, but she has been able to spend plenty of time with her children at home over the past few weeks and they will have been such a tonic for her. Her family are absolutely at the centre of her world, so being able to have George, Charlotte and Louis at home with her has no doubt really boosted her spirits.”

[From The Sun]

Here’s the thing – I expected these kinds of PR-fluff pieces for the past two months. I thought we’d hear a lot about how Kate is being brave for her kids and how everyone is pitching in, and Kate couldn’t manage without William. Instead, there’s been radio silence up until this week. There are definitely visible fractures between William and Kate’s separate communications strategies.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.