The Internet Has Questions About Kensington Palace's PR Following Kate Middleton's Cancer News
"Actually I hope Kensington Palace’s PR team feels bad, because I feel like you have to try to mess up this badly."
The internet has some questions about Kensington Palace's PR strategy following Kate Middleton's cancer diagnosis.
On Friday, March 22, the Princess of Wales revealed that she has been diagnosed with cancer and is currently undergoing chemotherapy treatments. The bombshell revelation came after weeks of intense public scrutiny following her hospitalization and the release of a digitally altered photograph of the princess.
“'I hope people feel bad.' Actually I hope Kensington Palace’s PR team feels bad, because I feel like you have to try to mess up this badly," one person posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, following Middleton's announcement. "Charles handled the PR around his own cancer diagnosis without a problem."
In January, both Middleton and King Charles were hospitalized for separate health issues.
In the wake of his hospitalization, Buckingham Palace announced that the King was diagnosed with an unspecified type of cancer and is pursuing treatment. At the same time, Kensington Palace announced that the Princess of Wales had underwent a planned abdominal surgery and would be stepping away from her royal duties and the public spotlight until after Easter.
In the weeks that followed—and after the palace released a doctored image of the princess—online speculation and a myriad of conspiracy theories about the Middleton's health, wellness, whereabouts and marriage hit a fever pitch. Now, in the wake of her cancer diagnosis, the internet has some thoughts about the royal family's "botched" PR strategy.
"I feel badly for her and her family," one person wrote on X. "But also: what a massive PR screw-up and how positively insane that they threw a woman with cancer under a Photoshop bus, knowing what she was dealing with."
After major news outlets pulled the UK Mother's Day image of Middleton and her three children because it was altered, Kensington Palace released a statement from the princess, who took responsibility for the "confusion."
"Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing," Middleton said in the written statement, posted on X. "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."
"Maybe you shouldn’t work in PR if you can’t control the narrative around a mother of three young children having cancer," an X user posted.
"Who lets a woman with cancer take the fall for a photoshop disaster like that?" another commented. "My god. It’s horrible."
Prior to Middleton's latest health announcement, Kensington Palace made a series of arguably bizarre PR decisions. In the wake of the botched Mother's Day post, the palace refused to release an unaltered, original image of the princess, claimed she was "working on a special project from home" and pushed back plans for Middleton to appear in public without any explanation.
"Kate Middleton just revealed she has cancer and is undergoing chemo, which makes the palace blaming the photo editing on her even weirder," one person noted on X. "Hopefully she gets better and hopefully their PR learns from this."
"I don’t want to comment on #KateMiddleton’s condition but as a comms/PR person - the pivot to “this is the public’s shame” and “the problem was the conspiracy theories” and not the most unreal PR disaster I’ve ever witnessed from an unreliable/dangerous institution is the point," another wrote.
"I am begging people to understand *we* are not the reason Kate Middleton had to make that video," another person posted. "The disastrous palace PR team is why she had to make that video."
Stay In The Know
Get exclusive access to fashion and beauty trends, hot-off-the-press celebrity news, and more.
Danielle Campoamor is Marie Claire's weekend editor covering all things news, celebrity, politics, culture, live events, and more. In addition, she is an award-winning freelance writer and former NBC journalist with over a decade of digital media experience covering mental health, reproductive justice, abortion access, maternal mortality, gun violence, climate change, politics, celebrity news, culture, online trends, wellness, gender-based violence and other feminist issues. You can find her work in The New York Times, Washington Post, TIME, New York Magazine, CNN, MSNBC, NBC, TODAY, Vogue, Vanity Fair, Harper's Bazaar, Marie Claire, InStyle, Playboy, Teen Vogue, Glamour, The Daily Beast, Mother Jones, Prism, Newsweek, Slate, HuffPost and more. She currently lives in Brooklyn, New York with her husband and their two feral sons. When she is not writing, editing or doom scrolling she enjoys reading, cooking, debating current events and politics, traveling to Seattle to see her dear friends and losing Pokémon battles against her ruthless offspring. You can find her on X, Instagram, Threads, Facebook and all the places.
-
Sabrina Carpenter's Micro Shorts Are a Slice of Fashion History
She was brave to trot it out at the height of winter.
By Kelsey Stiegman Published
-
Tom Parker Bowles Says Stepfather King Charles Could be "Fantastic" at Another Job if He Wasn't Monarch
Just imagine.
By Kristin Contino Published
-
Cartier Celebrates 100 Years of Trinity With a Miami Pop-Up
A look inside the Art Basel event.
By Michaela Bushkin Published