Where Is Kate Middleton? Conspiracy Theories About The Missing Royal Explained

Kate Middleton, British Royal and wife to Prince William has been missing in action since December 2023, when she was last seen on Christmas day with her husband and children. According to Kensington Palace, Middleton was slated for surgery in January 2024, but a slew of missed public appearances both by her and her husband have prompted people to ask if there's something the Royal Family is keeping from the public.

More interestingly, British media has been uncharacteristically mum about the matter, with nary a peep in any major British tabloid that otherwise froths at the mouth to discuss every minutia linked to the British Royal Family. Two months going on from Kate Middleton's "disappearance," people on the internet are beginning to openly discuss their conspiracy theories about her location, health, and well-being.

Here's a recap of all the events leading up to the now-deafening internet buzz around Kate Middleton's whereabouts, from the various hospital visits from other Royal members to the dozens of Reddit threads dissecting her location.

When Was Kate Middleton Last Seen In Public?

Kate Middle was last seen in the public eye on Christmas Day, 2023 when she appeared in a bright blue get-up alongside her family. The Princess appeared to be in good health in the photos, but it was only a few weeks later that Kensington Palace issued an update about Kate Middleton's well-being.

On January 17th, 2023, Kensington Palace released a statement about Kate Middleton, saying that she underwent a "planned abdominal surgery," that she would be staying in hospital for the next 10 to 14 days and would not be returning to her public duties "until after Easter." On January 29th, 2024, they announced that Kate Middleton returned to Windsor to continue recuperating.

When Did People First Notice That Kate Middleton Appeared To Be "Missing"?

Rumors about Kate Middleton's prolonged disappearance began gaining traction toward the start of February 2024, as seen in a Reddit post on /r/OutOfTheLoop, where Redditor /u/bqzs posted a detailed account of all the suspicious links in the "missing" Kate Middleton story.

The user noted several things that may point to the royal family hiding something about Kate Middleton's whereabouts, notably:

1. Despite claims that the surgery was planned, Kate had events on her calendar that were then canceled. So if it was planned, it certainly was on short notice.

2. Kate Middleton was not seen on her birthday on January 9th, and not for a whole month after that. Given the British press and their proclivity to photograph the Royal Family, the lack of even a blurry car photo seems noteworthy.

3. Kate Middleton was photographed in full hair and makeup merely 24 hours after the birth of her children, so the likelihood of an abdominal surgery, which typically takes a fortnight to recover from, rendering her non-camera ready is unlikely.

4. A flurry of tonally-off coverage from the British Press gives the impression that newspapers have been given gag orders that stop them from covering the event accurate to their sources.

The discussions then moved to Twitter in mid-February, as seen @1followernodad's post on Twitter / X. The user discussed how the royal family seemed to have been "shutting down press" about Kate Middleton's whereabouts, a theory echoed by the replies to the post.

What Are Some Of The Conspiracy Theories Surrounding Kate Middleton's 'Disappearance'?

More theories and discussions about Kate Middleton followed in late February, with X user @MRSFVenom questioning the British media's uncharacteristic acquiescence to the Princess's request for privacy. X user @MadihaBlob wrote about going down the "Kate Middleton rabbit hole" and reporting on rumors that she might be in a coma or even dead, or that Prince William is leaving her for a mistress, theorized to be a Rose Hanbury.

Why Are People Saying That Kate Middleton Is Recovering From A BBL?

Some of the more outlandish theories about Kate's disappearance posit that her "abdominal surgery" is actually a secret BBL surgery to "enhance" her derriere. One Twitter user even backed up their theory with a Google search result showing the time it requires to recover from such a surgery, writing, "Kate Middleton hasn't been seen for two months now…"

For the full history of "Where is Kate Middleton?" be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.