London:

Catherine, Princess of Wales, will attend the Wimbledon Men’s final in London on Sunday as she recovers after being diagnosed with cancer, her Kensington Palace office said.

“The Princess of Wales, Patron of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club will attend the Gentlemen’s Singles Final of The Championships, Wimbledon on Sunday 14th July,” the palace said in a press release.

UK media also reported that the princess will present the trophy to the winner of the final, which will see Serbian all-time great Novak Djokovic go up against defending Spanish champion Carlos Alcaraz.

Catherine last month tentatively returned to UK public life for the first time since her diagnosis, attending a military parade in London to mark King Charles III’s official birthday.

The 42-year-old future queen appeared on the Buckingham Palace balcony, to cheers from the crowds below.

It came nearly three months after the princess revealed she was receiving chemotherapy treatment. She had not been seen at a public engagement since a Christmas Day service last year.

In a statement released at the time, Kate said she was “making good progress” with her treatment, which is set to last for several more months, but was “not out of the woods yet”.

“I’m looking forward to attending the King’s Birthday Parade this weekend with my family and hope to join a few public engagements over the summer,” the princess added.

Angela Perry, a teacher in her 50s from Reading, told AFP at the event that: “She’s our future queen. She’s so important,” calling Kate’s reemergence “reassuring”.

Kate’s cancer announcement came just weeks after it was disclosed that British head of state Charles had also been diagnosed with the condition.

Neither has revealed what type of cancer they have.

Charles, 75, was given the green light to resume public duties in April after doctors said they were “very encouraged” by his progress.

He has since attended commemoration events in northern France for the 80th anniversary of D-Day.

Royal officials are keen to manage expectations about Kate’s gradual return to the public eye and have maintained that her appearances will depend on her treatment and recovery.

Kate explained in her statement that she had “good days and bad days” and was “taking each day as it comes”.

The King’s sister, Princess Anne, took on more duties during the absences of Charles and Catherine but was herself recently put out of action after being hospitalised for five days following an incident involving a horse.

Anne, 73, returned to public duties on Friday, weeks after she was treated for a concussion.

Catherine and her husband William celebrated her return, writing on social media: “Super trooper! So great to see you back so soon!”, signing it “W and C x”.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Kate Middleton’s prolonged absence after her abdominal surgery in January sparked many conspiracy theories with Kensington Palace working overtime to douse the fire on social media. The buzz died down after the Princess of Wales, in a video, announced that she is undergoing treatment for cancer. However, Getty Images’ adding an “editor’s note” to Kate Middleton’s cancer announcement video has again sparked concerns.

The note, stating, “This Handout clip was provided by a third-party organization and may not adhere to Getty Images’ editorial policy,” fueled speculation and conspiracy theories about the authenticity of the video.

In the video, Princess Kate is sitting on a bench in the garden of Windsor Castle. The royal explained that she is receiving “preventative chemotherapy” after tests following her abdominal surgery in January “found cancer had been present.”

Kate, wife of the heir to the throne Prince William, called the cancer discovery a “huge shock”.

A message from Catherine, The Princess of Wales pic.twitter.com/5LQT1qGarK

— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) March 22, 2024

Users on social media platforms questioned the rationale behind the note by Getty, with some suggesting it furthered doubts about Kate’s condition. Home to over 130 million images, Getty is the largest privately‑owned photographic archive in the world.

After the issue blew up, Getty issued a clarification stating that such notes are standard practice for handout content from third-party organizations. However, a lot of older videos of Britain’s royal family do not carry the disclaimer.

This recent note by the media aggregator has once again sparked concerns about the credibility of the photos and videos coming from the Palace.

Last month, leading photo agencies like AP and Reuters flagged Kate Middleton’s Mother’s Day photo amid fears that it was heavily edited or fabricated. The Kensington Palace, which had released the photo, later issued a “kill order” for the image.

Kate Middleton, 42, has not been seen in public eye since an abdominal surgery for a non-cancerous but unspecified condition on January 16. Social media has been awash with speculation about her health, generating global headlines and rumours. Instead of calming fears over her health, the edited picture released by Kensington Palace sent the rumour mill into overdrive as media scrambled to pull the picture with a kill notice.

Kensington Palace said William, whose mother Princess Diana died in a car crash when she was just 36, would continue his duties while supporting his wife, as he had since her surgery. A source said Kate was in good spirits and focused on her recovery.

However, neither was present for the traditional gathering of royals for a church service on Easter Sunday at Windsor.

Kate was the first commoner to marry a prince in close proximity to the throne in more than 350 years when she wed William in 2011 and has since become one of the most popular royals.

An investigation has been launched at the clinic where Kate Middleton had her abdominal surgery after a staff member tried to access her private medical records, as per a report in The Guardian. This comes as the 42-year-old has been away from the public eye since December. According to Kensington Palace, she is recovering at home after a “planned abdominal surgery” in January. Other than a couple of blurry pictures and videos, she has not been seen and social media has been abuzz with speculation about her health, generating global headlines and rumours.

The report, quoting the Mirror, added that at least one employee attempted to obtain Kate Middleton’s medical records in January while she was a patient at The London Clinic in Marylebone, London. The senior hospital management “contacted Kensington Palace immediately after the incident was brought to their attention and assured the palace there would be a full investigation”.

A source told the outlet, “This is a major security breach and incredibly damaging for the hospital, given its unblemished reputation for treating members of the royal family. The whole medical staff have been left utterly shocked and distraught over the allegations and were very hurt that a trusted colleague could have allegedly been responsible for such a breach of trust and ethics.”

The UK’s authority for data protection and privacy said that it had received a breach report. An Information Commissioner’s Office spokesperson told the outlet, “We can confirm that we have received a breach report and are assessing the information provided.” Meanwhile, the Kensington Palace said that it “is a matter for the London Clinic.”

The London Clinic refused to respond to the claims but said that their patients “deserve total privacy” about their medical records. “We firmly believe that all our patients, no matter their status, deserve total privacy and confidentiality regarding their medical information,” they added.

Although the details of Ms Middleton’s condition are unknown, Kensington Palace has previously stated that it is unrelated to cancer and that the 42-year-old wants her medical information to remain private. Based on medical advice at the time, the Princess was “unlikely to return to public duties until after Easter” on March 31.

Notably, Kate Middleton was spotted at a farmer’s market with her husband Prince William on March 16. The new video, published by the British media, showed a smiling Princess, dressed in a black outfit, walking with her husband, carrying shopping bags at the Windsor market. Some people allege that the woman in the video did not resemble the Princess of Wales while others say that they are happy to see Ms Middleton “happy and healthy”. Many on the internet also added that the photos looked too grainy when every phone had a smartphone or HD camera.

Controversy surrounds the first official photo of Britain’s Princess Kate Middleton released since her abdominal surgery. Several news agencies have dropped the photo of the Princess with her three children, saying it was found to have been manipulated.

The Kensington Palace had released the photo on Sunday to mark Mother’s Day in Britain.

The smiling Princess of Wales, dressed in jeans, a sweater and a dark jacket, is seen sitting on a garden chair. Her three children, George, Charlotte and Louis are with her in the photo. She does not have her engagement ring on in the photo, which has become a point of discussion on social media.

Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the last two months.

Wishing everyone a Happy Mother’s Day. C

The Prince of Wales, 2024 pic.twitter.com/6DywGBpLLQ

— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) March 10, 2024

The Palace said it was taken by her husband Prince William, the heir to the British throne, at Windsor, where Kate has been recovering since her discharge.

A message accompanying the photo read: “Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the last two months. Wishing everyone a Happy Mother’s Day.” It was signed “C” for Catherine.

News Agencies Withdraw Photo

Three news agencies – AP, AFP and Reuters – withdrew the photo this morning citing manipulation concerns. But UK’s biggest news agency PA, which is used by the Royal family to release their official notifications, hasn’t taken any such step yet.

“It has come to light that the Handout issued by Kensington Palace today of Kate and the kids had been altered, therefore it was withdrawn from AFP systems,” news agency AFP said in a note to its clients.

Kensington Palace has declined to comment on the withdrawal of the photo by the news agencies, BBC reported.

Several users accused the Royal family of sharing an AI-generated image of the Princess, pointing out this is the first time she was clicked without her engagement ring.

“If the #princessofwales photo is from this last week as the palace claims…why wouldn’t Comms. make sure she had her engagement ring on her hand? Like, YOU KNOW people will hone in on that. Yes, PW allegedly took the photo but COME on,” said a user.

An early example from the Royal Rota Domestic Captain of how this #CatherinePrincessOfWales photo debacle might be covered up:

We actually do have reason to doubt the authenticity as KP has not given us many reasons to trust them. pic.twitter.com/yqoqsFlZNf

— Meredith (@TheMereDish) March 11, 2024

“Something is rotten in the state of…” William Shakespeare.

The toxic RF are rereleasing the AI generated Mother’s Day photo with the distorted hands, the missing bit of sleeve and the missing engagement and wedding ring edited out—too late. #PrincessofWales fake photo. pic.twitter.com/IXz10Ux4sg

— Ryn Shell (@RynShell) March 10, 2024

Another user pointed out a missing bit of the sleeve of Princess Charlotte.

Kate’s absence from public view had fuelled intense speculation and wild conspiracy theories. The Palace had said at the time of her surgery she would be “unlikely to return to public duties until after Easter”, adding that her surgery was not related to cancer.

Her father-in-law King Charles was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year.

The future queen was last pictured in December when she attended church services with her family in Sandringham.

She was hospitalised on January 16 for an abdominal surgery and discharged on January 29. The photo shared by the palace yesterday is the first official family photograph released since then. Before this, she was seen being driven in a car last Monday. Several UK outlets, including Daily Mail and The Sun, chose not to publish those photos.