Prince William’s Team Has Addressed Those Kate Middleton Conspiracy Theories

Prince William isn’t going to feed into speculation about the health and whereabouts of his wife, Kate Middleton.

While his father, King Charles III, receives treatment for his recently disclosed cancer diagnosis, there’s also been a fair amount of online concern for the Princess of Wales, who underwent a “planned abdominal surgery” in January. Earlier this week she was spotted for the first time since her last public appearance in December, though the car photo shared by TMZ on March 4 was pretty grainy.

Despite multiple statements from Kensington Palace indicating that information would be made available to the public only on an as-needed basis, many are surprised that the royal family haven’t made more of an effort to reassure everyone that the mom of three is okay.

“His focus is on his work and not on social media,” a spokesman for the Prince of Wales recently told People. The publication’s latest report on the royal drama also notes that Prince William has stepped up his schedule of public appearances as of late.

In the original statement about Middleton’s surgery, shared on January 17, Kensington Palace indicated that the Princess “appreciates the interest” the news would generate and “hopes that the public will understand her desire to maintain as much normality for her children as possible…and her wish that her personal medical information remains private.”

Beyond social media conspiracy theories, there have been conflicting reports about when the princess might return to her royal duties. After she was announced as an attendee of the Trooping the Colour ceremony in June, the British army quietly removed her name from the list of attendees, as her presence was never officially confirmed. According to Time, the list of attending royals is usually confirmed closer to the date of the actual event.

So, basically, we’ll know more when we know more.