Prince William appeared completely unfazed Thursday amid all the ongoing speculation surrounding Kate Middleton’s absence from the public eye post-surgery.
The Prince of Wales attended the opening of a new youth zone called WEST in Hammersmith, West London, and had a grin plastered across his face the entire time.
William, 41, shot hoops with kids and was photographed cheering as he made a basket. He also spent part of his afternoon with students from the local Ark White City primary school and WEST’s Young People’s Development Group, who were involved in the development of the new facilities.
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The royal’s visit comes ahead of his scheduled appearance at a memorial event for his late mother, Princess Diana.
William is set to give a speech in-person, while his brother, Prince Harry, is expected to appear virtually. However, the Duke of Sussex will address attendees only after the future king has departed the event.
Wills appears to be putting on a business-as-usual front despite wild conspiracy theories swirling about Middleton’s ongoing absence since undergoing abdominal surgery in January.
The mystery surrounding Middleton’s location and health only intensified after she shared a heavily Photoshopped image of her family over the weekend in celebration of Mother’s Day in the UK.
The Princess of Wales, 42, later blamed the editing errors on being an “amateur photographer” — even though she had credited her husband as the one who snapped the photo.
While internet sleuths have attempted to figure out the origins of the photo, others such as “The Late Show” host Stephen Colbert have focused on rumors regarding William’s alleged infidelity with Rose Hanbury.
“The kingdom has been all aflutter by the seeming disappearance of Kate Middleton. Well now, internet sleuths are guessing that Kate’s absence may be related to her husband and the future king of England William having an affair,” he said on Tuesday’s episode of his late-night show.
Royals fans also want to know:
- How Prince Harry and Meghan Markle met
- Prince William and Kate Middleton’s relationship timeline
- Royal family tree and line of succession
“Now there have been rumors of an affair between William and the Marching Band of Chicanery since 2019,” he said, mocking her former title, Marchioness of Cholmondeley.
“According to tabloids back then, when Kate supposedly confronted him about it, he laughed it off, saying there was nothing to it. Always a good response when your wife accuses you of cheating,” he quipped.
British TV personality John Oliver, meanwhile, joked that Middleton probably died.
“They might be ‘Weekend at Bernie’s’–ing this situation,” he said on “Watch What Happens Live,” referring to the 1989 film in which two colleagues pretend their dead co-worker is alive and host a bash at his summer house.
“I’m not saying it happened! I’m saying it’s non-zero until proven otherwise,” he said. “Until you see her with a copy of today’s newspaper.”
Pvnew has reached out to the palace for comment.
