Kate Middleton, wife of Prince William, has not been seen for two and a half months, when the British royal house reported that she had undergone abdominal surgery. She was spotted wearing dark glasses in a car this week, but as it was an unofficial photo, obtained by a US gossip publication, the British press did not reproduce it to respect her privacy. A complete novelty in a media that has been publishing much more compromising photos of the royal family for decades.
Surely with the idea of making up for this concession, the Princess of Wales published a portrait of herself with her three children on Sunday, to commemorate Mother's Day, which in the United Kingdom is celebrated on the fourth Sunday of Lent. But the image was removed after a few hours by news agencies because it was discovered that it had been doctored, as Kate Middleton later admitted apologetically.
As anecdotal as it all seems, we are dealing with a case of poor communication management by the British royal house, which does not quite understand that the world has changed and that what the quality media does not publish, the social networks without any regard. Privacy is complex to protect in times when immediacy rules. Charles III made an exercise in transparency by announcing in January that he had cancer and was withdrawing from public activity while undergoing treatment. But we haven't heard anything more about it, which has fueled all kinds of rumours.
It also didn't seem right that Camilla Parker, the Queen consort, said she was taking a few days off after carrying the burden of representing the crown on her back for the last month and a half. The feeling is that it was not a good idea on the part of the monarch to dispense with Elizabeth II's experienced team, especially the private secretary, Sir Edward Young, who managed relations with the institutions and controlled the royal agenda. He was the first to ignore the advice of Philip of Edinburgh, who according to The crown maintained that, when things get difficult, the best strategy is to do nothing. But this is a luxury unbecoming of the 21st century.
