(NewsNation) — A former butler to the British royal family tells NewsNation that despite all the speculation and rumors about Kate, Princess of Wales, the true story is much simpler.
“She is currently actually in Norfolk,” Paul Burrell told NewsNation’s Ashleigh Banfield. “She is resting with her family and her children and she's going to stay in Anmer Hall in Norfolk, until after Easter.”
Prince William and Kate previously lived at Anmer Hall in 2015 and used it as their main residence until 2017.
For Burrell, a former butler to Princess Diana, the media speculation about Kate following her abdominal surgery and lack of public appearances is a familiar but unwelcome nuisance.
“The media in the United Kingdom is slightly more vicious, I would think, than the media in America,” said Burrell. “And the media in England are finding that Kate and William are not playing ball with them.”
Burrell pointed to the recent media fervor surrounding Kate’s first official photo since her abdominal surgery nearly two months ago.
The photo of Kate in a chair surrounded by her three children was credited to her husband, William, Prince of Wales and heir to the throne, and was said to have been taken earlier in the week in Windsor.
“Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the last two months,” Kate said on social media. “Wishing everyone a Happy Mother’s Day.”
The Associated Press and other news agencies, however, retracted it from publication because it appeared to have been manipulated, fueling more conjecture.
AP initially published the photo, which was issued by Kensington Palace. While there was no suggestion the photo was fake, AP retracted it because closer inspection revealed the source had manipulated the image in a way that did not meet AP’s photo standards. For instance, the photo shows an inconsistency in the alignment of Princess Charlotte’s left hand.
Burrell believes the royal family’s decision to release a photo on their own caused a rift with the British press.
“This family picture would have been in the past taken by a press pack,” he said. “(The press) would have come in they would have taken the picture. That picture would then be their copyright. That picture would then be distributed around the world and sold on different platforms, gaining lots of money for other people. William and Kate have taken that away from the media by releasing their picture with their copyrights. They now have control over that, and our media doesn’t like that part.”
The royal family has been under more scrutiny than usual in recent weeks, because both Kate and King Charles III can’t carry out their usual public duties due to health problems.
Royal officials say Charles is undergoing treatment for an unspecified form of cancer, which was discovered during treatment for an enlarged prostate. The monarch has canceled all his public engagements while he receives treatment, though he has been photographed walking to church and meeting privately with government officials and dignitaries.
Kate, 42, underwent surgery Jan. 16 and her condition and the reason for the surgery have not been revealed, though Kensington Palace, Prince William and Kate’s office said it was not cancer-related.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.