Kate Middleton's Health Was None of Your Business All Along

After weeks of speculation around Kate Middleton's health, on March 22, the Princess of Wales revealed she was diagnosed with cancer and is undergoing chemotherapy. In a video message, she shared the cancer was discovered after her planned abdominal surgery in January. The announcement came amid various rumors about her medical condition, which only got worse after the family released a digitally altered photo of Middleton and her children on March 10. While the palace rightfully faced questions and concerns about its handling of the matter, frankly, Middleton's health is no one's business but hers and her family's — and that's even clearer following her statement.

Now that Middleton has shared her diagnosis, the various conspiracy theories and jokes surrounding her whereabouts the past few months feel especially gross and inappropriate. There was much demand for Middleton to make a public appearance or for Kensington Palace to share details of her medical condition, and it seems she felt it necessary to share this public statement with the world. It's unfortunate that she couldn't deal with her health privately, if that's what she had wanted.

"This of course came as a huge shock, and William and I have been doing everything we can to process and manage this privately for the sake of our young family," Middleton said in the video. "As you can imagine, this has taken time. It has taken me time to recover from major surgery in order to start my treatment."

Sure, it's fair for people to have questions — especially given the PR mystery surrounding the doctored photo — but Middleton shouldn't have been expected to open up about her health just because she's a public figure.

While celebrities like Christina Applegate and Selena Gomez have shown the value of sharing their medical journeys, particularly with rare or stigmatized diseases like multiple sclerosis and lupus, respectively, no one should feel compelled to disclose anything about their health. Though Middleton has now revealed her cancer diagnosis, hopefully she won't feel further pressure from the public to share more details.

While it's fine to be curious about celebrities' personal lives, perhaps this outcome should remind us it's never OK to speculate or gossip about anyone's health, regardless of their level of fame. If it wasn't clear before, Middleton has now clearly asked for privacy as she handles this frightening time in her life with her family. While many may argue that celebrities lose their right to privacy as public figures, they certainly deserve it when it comes to their health.

The theories and conjecture even feel potentially harmful, considering the media's history with the women of the royal family. Meghan Markle has said she stepped away from royal duties because of Buckingham Palace's unwillingness to protect her, Prince Harry, and their children from negative and often racist press coverage. And Princess Diana's tragic death has long been linked to the paparazzi's relentless pursuit of the royal. In this case, it seems Kensington Palace is attempting to protect Middleton by controlling the narrative, but she still faces undeniable and outsized scrutiny from the media and the public.

Let's hope her announcement ends the jokes and guesswork once and for all. It's time to allow Princess Catherine to focus on her recovery and family.

Yerin Kim is the features editor at POPSUGAR, where she helps shape the vision for special features and packages across the network. A graduate of Syracuse University's Newhouse School, she has over five years of experience in the pop culture and women's lifestyle spaces. She's passionate about spreading cultural sensitivity through the lenses of lifestyle, entertainment, and style.