The two women have often been compared on their beauty or their sense of style. However, Kate Middleton and Lady Diana don’t really have anything in common, other than the increased tabloids’ interest in them. Following her abdominal operation, the Princess of Wales was extremely discreet. But, this Friday, March 22, Prince William’s wife decided to break the silence by revealing that she had cancer, through a moving video published on social networks, shocking the whole world. A situation which is reminiscent of Lady Diana, whose shadow hangs more than ever over the destiny of Kate Middleton.
It must be said that, even if the Princess of Wales has never suffered, or with rare exceptions, excesses from the paparazzi, unlike her illustrious mother-in-law, the princess has been confronted with rumors and to the craziest conspiracy theories, before she speaks on camera. Speculations which, when we know the sad truth, must have weakened it. For British journalist Camilla Tominey, “What Kate describes as an ‘incredibly difficult two months’ in the video was compounded by an unbearable level of surveillance and intrusion, unprecedented since the days of Diana, Princess of Wales”. A harassment which must have plunged William back into his painful past.
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Kate Middleton, faced with media insistence
However, since the tragic death of Lady Diana on August 31, 1997, in a car accident under the Pont de l’Alma in Paris, the media have respected the limits imposed by the palace. However, this is never enough for Prince William. Traumatized, he makes a point of protecting his wife and family from the intrusion of the press, which he blames for his mother’s disappearance. SO “when he starts a family with Kate Middleton, William builds a real fortress“, note The Parisian, this Sunday March 24. With the emergence of social networks, Kate Middleton and Prince William manage to control their image, by sharing “what they want to say and show”. But, while all the media were wondering where the princess had gone, “an invisible army has risen to destroy everything Kensington Palace could say”. The curiosity is such that “there were reportedly attempts to break into the princess’s medical records at the London Clinic where she was operated on”. And, if this is demonstrated, “there will be consequences”.
“Time, space and privacy”
“Time, space and privacy” then asks Kate Middleton through her video. Words that Diana herself had spoken in a press release in November 1993, after the Mirror had left a camera in the gym where she was going to train, before posting photos of herself lifting weights. Two years later, while skiing with William and Harry, Princess Diana asked a cameraman, “as a parent”, to leave his children alone, wanting to preserve their privacy at all costs. Because, for her, her children were the absolute priority, just like for the Princess of Wales. According to Emily Maitlis, from the podcast The New Agents“It’s no coincidence that Kate Middleton mentions William twice”. According to her, “That’s a pretty clear way of saying Hands off those who try to attack your marriage. And more generally to say: Enough”.
Upon learning of Kate Middleton’s cancer, the British, who still remember the tragic death of Lady Diana, did not hide their sadness and their concern. But, Kate Middleton assures her: “I am doing well and growing stronger every day by focusing on the things that will help me heal; in my mind, my body and my soul”.
Photo credits: AGENCE / BESTIMAGE