How Prince William Took Divorce Rumors From Bad To Worse Before Kate's Cancer Reveal

By now, everyone knows that Catherine, Princess of Wales, was diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer in 2024. In the lead-up to Kate's cancer announcement, she completely disappeared from the public eye for weeks after undergoing planned abdominal surgery in January 2024. As expected, scuttlebutt soon abounded on the internet, with pundits questioning her whereabouts, with many speculating that her prolonged disappearance might be the result of a troubled marriage.

William, Prince of Wales couldn't escape affair rumors during this time (talk that he's been romantically involved with Rose Hanbury has been around since 2019). To make matters worse, the prince made a move that any PR expert worth their salt would have advised against — he released a statement on social media regarding the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, but instead of it being a joint statement from him and Catherine, as is usually the custom, the statement only bore William's cypher. The caption on X read, "A statement from The Prince of Wales."

Royal watchers, who by this time were desperate for any crumb of information about Catherine's whereabouts, immediately started speculating that the statement was a sign of William distancing himself from his wife. "Last year when [Kensington Palace] released a statement about the Middle East, it said 'William and Kate', now William is just using 'I' in his statement and he's using his logo? What really happened to Kate? Why is he distancing himself from her so much?" one pundit questioned. "Is Kate Middleton secretly dead? The whole situation with her is off," another added. Indeed, it became clear that the prince's solo statement didn't do anything to slow the rumor mill, which kept churning relentlessly as Kensington Palace remained silent about Catherine's whereabouts and wellbeing. Of course, in late March, Catherine announced the real reason for her absence.

When what really happened to Princess Catherine finally became clear, it's likely the palace hoped the rumors would die down. Alas, they have not. Even Prince William and Catherine's rare Valentine's Day picture couldn't quell divorce rumors. A candid snap of the prince kissing Catherine on the cheek was posted to the couple's social media accounts in celebration of Valentine's Day in 2025. Only, eagle-eyed pundits soon noticed it wasn't a new photograph but rather one taken from video footage posted to the couple's social media account in September 2024 when Catherine announced to the public that she was in remission. "Oh from that commercial again are they not living together to get a new photo?" one pundit questioned. "So, from last Summer till now, you could not make any other 'love and happiness' photo ???" another weighed in.

William unintentionally stoked the fire once again in April 2025 when he hired his mother, Princess Diana's divorce lawyers — not to file for divorce from Catherine, however. The prince simply wants to make use of the lawyers his mother turned to during her divorce from King Charles III instead of the palace's current law firm for future legal matters. At least, that's what insiders are saying. "William wanted to strike out on his own," a source told the Daily Mail. "'He did not want to continue using his father's lawyers. It's as simple as that. He wants to be his own man."