The conspiracy theories revolving around Kate Middleton’s disappearance after her abdominal surgery in January grabbed the eyeballs of multiple media houses. The Princess of Wales, after a few weeks of speculation, revealed that she was undergoing cancer treatment, which had been found after her surgery.
While the channels were rigorously putting out stories related to the princess and the royal family, BBC’s viewers have accused the channel of being insensitive towards the news of cancer diagnosis. The media house has now come forward to clarify its stand on the coverage carried out in the past few weeks. BBC has countered the complaints and made a few points to improve the understanding of the news coverage process.
BBC’s Clarification Over Insensitive Coverage
After receiving complaints over being inconsiderate towards the news of Kate Middleton’s cancer diagnosis, the media house has issued a clarification over the coverage. The BBC said on Friday that they “received complaints from people who feel our coverage of the Princess of Wales’ cancer diagnosis was excessive and insensitive.”
Reflecting on the coverage aspect of the stories, the news channel implied, “Our reporting made clear that this is a difficult time for the princess and the rest of the Royal Family; we have been mindful at all times to approach our coverage with sensitivity.”
It added, “As part of our analysis, we examined the intense speculation there had been in the preceding weeks about the princess’s health. We also reported on Catherine’s request for privacy and detailed the statement from Kensington Palace regarding the princess having the right to privacy in relation to her medical issues.”
The BBC continued, “We always give careful consideration to the editorial decisions we make. While we have a responsibility to report on stories that are of interest to our audience, we appreciate that not everyone would have approved of the approach we took.”
Conspiracy Theories Regarding Kate Middleton’s Health
The Princess of Wales had been away from the public eye for weeks after her surgery in January. The Kensington Palace had issued a statement, informing the nation about Middleton going under the knife, but the reason remained undisclosed. Soon after, the internet went wild over the disappearance of the Duchess of Cambridge, where people speculated about problems in the royal household.
Adding to the theories, Kate Middleton posted a picture of herself with her kids on social media to celebrate U.K.’s Mother’s Day. The post was implied to have been photoshopped, and the princess issued an apology for experimenting with the picture.
After weeks of theories being piled up, on March 22, Kate Middleton revealed that she was diagnosed with cancer and had been undergoing treatment for the disease. The message was shared worldwide through a video posted by Kensington Palace on the Prince and Princess of Wales’ official account.
