Headlines speculating about the health and wellbeing of Kate Middleton have become unavoidable in the wake of her “planned abdominal surgery” in January and the controversy surrounding the edited photo of her and her children released on Sunday.
While Kensington Palace has said the Princess of Wales is “doing well” amid her recovery, what has remained unknown through all of this is what led her to need surgery in the first place.
On Wednesday’s show, Megyn was joined by Dan Wootton, host of Dan Wootton Outspoken, to discuss what he knows about Kate’s condition and to debunk some of the conspiracy theories on the subject.
‘Very Unwell’
Since the Royal Family released a statement on January 17 confirming the Princess of Wales had undergone a “planned abdominal surgery” at The London Clinic the previous day and would not “return to public duties until after Easter,” rumors have swirled about what may have led to the lengthy hospitalization and recovery.
Wootton, who has covered the royals for decades and broke the news of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s so-called ‘Mexit’ from the U.K. back in January 2020, said the princess’ condition is not to be taken lightly. “Kate is very unwell,” he said. “She is physically unwell, so there should surely be a little bit of sympathy towards her and I’m really not seeing much of that online.”
Some of the most outrageous claims about Kate have included speculation about cosmetic surgery and even death. Wootton confirmed that the princess is alive. “I can absolutely tell you she is alive,” he shared. “There are reasons why she doesn’t want to appear in public that have to do with physical appearance.” When Megyn asked specifically if Kate is “going to be okay,” Wootton responded “yes.”
Royal ‘Crisis’
While Wootton said that the internet and media have taken their coverage of Kate to the extreme, he admitted that the situation is problematic for the British monarchy. “I am not trying to undermine at all what’s going on because I would argue the Royal Family is in its biggest crisis in a generation,” he said.
A lot of that has to do with the secrecy surrounding the princess’ condition. “There are lots of questions to ask about transparency,” Wootton explained. “I just think sometimes what you’ve got to think about is there are personal health issues, which can be embarrassing to discuss that you don’t want the whole world to know.”
The question then becomes how much privacy public figures and heads of state are entitled to. “Does Kate deserve that humiliation,” he asked. “Isn’t it her choice if she wants to share with us or not?”
History shows that health disclosures among royals have largely been made on a case-by-case basis. “Obviously there’s a real track record in the Royal Family of some members opening up about their health – [Princess] Diana and Fergie [the Duchess of York] being examples of this,” Wootton said. While King Charles has not shared specifics, he was public about his cancer diagnosis and treatment.
Regardless, Wootton said the palace is in the midst of an “undeniable” public relations crisis. “There’s literally no one there to do the work, and [Prince] Harry and Megan [Markle] are trying to capitalize on that,” he concluded. “But if you think William is going to allow them back in… as some sort of savior for the Royal Family… it ain’t happening.”
You can check out Megyn’s full interview with Wootton by tuning in to episode 745 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s Triumph (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.