Kate Middleton conspiracies linger after cancer revelation

A picture shows the front pages of some of Britain's national newspapers, dominated by stories about Britain's Catherine, Princess of Wales announcing her cancer diagnosis, in Amersham on March 23, 2024. After weeks of wild speculation, the UK was on Saturday digesting the shock news that Catherine, Princess of Wales, has cancer, with many praising her courage and others criticising those who spread conspiracies. Catherine revealed the news on Friday in a highly personal video, which came just weeks after King Charles III revealed he too is battling the disease. — AFP

WASHINGTON: The revelation that Britain’s Catherine, Princess of Wales, has cancer prompted a swift backlash over a torrent of lurid social media speculation around her health, including by those positing she was secretly dead. But the somber news has not stopped the seemingly endless churn of conspiracy theories.

Kate Middleton, 42, received an outpouring of global sympathy after her video message on Friday revealed she was undergoing preventative chemotherapy, seeking to put an end to a maelstrom of unfounded claims circulated amid her monthslong absence from public life.