Claim: A viral picture shows Prince William getting emotional while embracing Prince Harry over Kate Middleton’s dire health situation.
Fact: The image is AI-generated. Moreover, the royal family has not issued any updates suggesting that Kate Middleton’s health is in serious condition.
On 22 May 2024, a user on Facebook posted an image (archive) of Prince William hugging Prince Harry, with William overwrought over his wife, Kate Middleton’s health. The post is captioned, “Prince William announces heartbreak: ‘My wife, it’s over…’”.
Similarly, another user posted on 21 May 2024, with the caption, “NEW UPDATE: PRINCE WILLIAM ANNOUNCES HEARTBREAK: ‘MY WIFE, IT’S OVER”.
Princess Catherine’s Health
On 17 January 2024, Kensington Palace announced that Catherine, Princess of Wales, otherwise known as Kate Middleton, would be undergoing planned abdominal surgery. Kensington Palace is the official source for royal announcements and news regarding the Prince and Princess of Wales.
According to the Palace’s statement, the Princess was “unlikely to return to public duties until after Easter” and would be postponing all engagements. Furthermore, the statement asserted that the Princess wishes for her medical history to remain private and, therefore, the Palace would, “only provide updates on Her Royal Highness’ progress when there is significant new information to share.”
On 29 January 2024, the Princess was released from the hospital, according to a Kensington Palace spokesperson. Following this, there were no significant updates regarding the Princess’s health, which led to mass online speculation regarding the Princess’s absence.
In response to the growing speculation, on 22 March 2024, the Princess released a video statement announcing she was diagnosed with cancer and that she would not be returning to public service until her health improved. The cancer was found during tests after her surgery, she said, but the Princess did not give details on the stage or type of cancer.
She would take the time to continue her treatments and heal privately, the Princess of Wales added.
At the time of this announcement, a Palace spokesman also added that “The princess is now on a recovery pathway having commenced a course of preventive chemotherapy in late February.”
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check conducted a general search on Google with the terms, “Prince William announces heartbreak,” and “Prince William announces heartbreak: ‘My wife, it’s over” but found no credible news on the said announcement.
Prince William’s recent comments on his wife’s health also do not include any such statement. Vanity Fair reported (archive) Prince William’s response to two bystanders on 1 May, who had asked him about Princess Kate’s health during his tour of northeast England. “We’re all doing well, thank you,” he responded.
Prince William again commented on her health while visiting St Mary’s Community Hospital on 10 May 2024. The BBC reported (archive) that Tracy Smith, an administrator at the hospital met the Prince and said, “I asked William about his wife Kate and he said: ‘She’s doing well, thanks,’ and I suggested they might like to come for a visit and bring the children.”
Neither of his recent statements indicates that Princess Kate’s medical situation is grave.
Kensington Palace also gave an official update (archive) regarding her health on 22 May 2024. While releasing a report by The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood, an organisation that is supported by the Princess, a Kensington Palace spokesperson said, “The princess is not expected to return to work until it’s cleared by her medical team”. Once again there was no indication from Kensington Palace that Princess Kate’s health had deteriorated.
In regards to the image of Prince William hugging Harry while looking emotional over Princess Kate’s health, Soch Fact Check conducted a reverse image search of the viral claim. The results led to an article (archive) from 29 April 2023, titled, “Prince William Welcomes Prince Harry Home at King Charles’ Coronation!”. The sub-heading of the piece read, “AI art imagines tearful Prince Harry and Prince William reconcile”. The article included several images by the author Jim the AI Whisperer, one of which is the viral image of the royal brothers embracing each other. “I’ve used the AI image generator Midjourney to imagine a heartfelt reconciliation between the two brothers, a reminder of happier times in the Royal Family,” the artist wrote in the article.
The same image was also shared on TikTok in 2023, preceding Princess Kate’s illness, with the caption, “Prince William Welcomes Prince Harry Home at King Charles’ Coronation!”
Furthermore, Prince Harry was last seen publicly next to Prince William at Queen Elizabeth’s funeral in September 2022. Harry’s final appearance at a Royal event attended by senior royals including his father, King Charles, and his brother was King Charles’s coronation in May 2023 where he arrived alone and sat two rows behind Prince William. Both events took place before the announcement of Princess Kate’s illness in 2024, and Soch Fact Check has not found any evidence of the brothers appearing in public together since then.
Virality
Soch Fact Check found that the same photo had been shared with the false claim of Princess Kate’s dire health conditions here and here. Claims that William announced heartbreak over Kate’s health garnered over 110k views here.
Conclusion: The claim that Prince William announced heartbreak over his wife’s health and the accompanying image of him emotionally hugging his brother Prince Harry are false. The image is AI-generated. Moreover, neither Prince William nor the Palace have made any comments that indicate the Princess’s health has deteriorated.
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