Prince William hurt that Kate Middleton is being hounded like mom Princess Diana: royal expert

Middleton, for her part, has been under scrutiny since Kensington Palace announced in January that she had undergone a “planned” operation and would remain out of the spotlight until at least Easter.

The palace said at the time that it would only share “significant” health updates about the 42-year-old going forward rather than regular bulletins.

Social media users started spreading theories about Middleton’s whereabouts after William, 41, suddenly pulled out of attending his godfather King Constantine of Greece’s funeral service in late February, citing an unknown “personal” reason.

Things really went into overdrive when just weeks later the palace released a poorly Photoshopped snap in honor of Mother’s Day in the UK.

The image of Middleton surrounded by her three children — Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, 5 — was immediately dissected by online sleuths.

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Hours later, major news agencies issued a “kill notice” and pulled the portrait from circulation over its obvious manipulations.

The following day, Middleton offered a rare apology online, explaining that she had been experimenting with photo editing.

The princess has been photographed in public only twice since her surgery, though she was reportedly out and about in Windsor with her family this Saturday.

Eyewitnesses claimed to the Sun that Middleton and William stopped by a farm stand after watching their children play sports — though no one managed to sneak a photo of the recovering royal.

“After all the rumors that had been going ’round, I was stunned to see them there,” one spy said. “Kate was out shopping with William, and she looked happy and she looked well.”