bitchy | Mail: Princess Kate ‘had actually been unwell for some time’ before her surgery

I wondered if and when we would get one of these pieces, and I thought it would come later in the summer, like at the end of August or early September. I wonder if the timeline was moved up for some reason (ah, I just got it – the Sussexes’ trip to Colombia, that’s why). Traditionally, Kensington Palace offers these “what the future will bring for Princess Kate” briefings a few times a year. In years past, the briefings are often “she’s keen to do more but you should not expect her to do anything, it’s not like she’s queen!” This season’s briefing is more fraught – obviously, it’s been a crazy year for Kate conspiracies and obviously, something fundamental has changed and shifted with Kate’s position in the family. The palace has made it perfectly clear that no one should expect Kate to do anything anytime soon, so this new Rebecca English piece is just filling out all of that. Plus, English says that Kate’s health was suffering last year too, that she has been sick for a lot longer than people realize. Some highlights from this new Mail exclusive:

Kate’s treatment: Her preventative chemotherapy treatment continues over the summer – and possibly even beyond – while her recovery will be ongoing for many months to come once even this is concluded, I understand. She will continue to work privately, and engage publicly as and when she can. Kensington Palace hope to provide guidance at some point in the future about what a return to ‘a more regular workload’ might look like. But it is important to stress that they are absolutely ‘not at that stage yet’, according to one royal insider.

No return to royal duties: Asked if the Princess’ fourth public appearance (in person and on video) of the year signalled a return to royal duties, a source said firmly: ‘We are not there yet. When we last heard from her ahead of Trooping the Colour, she said her treatment was going on into the summer and that’s what’s happening. It’s been a rough, rough time, a really difficult year for the entire family. And as she herself said, she is not out of the woods yet. The direction is positive [but] there will not be great change [in terms of her public profile] after Sunday night and no one is giving a timescale for her return.’

Internet trolls: In the fetid depths of social media, you will always find someone with an unkind opinion on the matter, despite Catherine’s quite unprecedented levels of openness about her condition. Within hours of her appearance at Wimbledon in July, for example, trolls were already disgracefully picking apart her rosy-cheeked appearance, even casting aspersions on how ill she has really been. While we mustn’t give these individuals the oxygen of publicity they clearly crave, it is important to highlight just how rancid the internet has been this year when it comes to the Royal Family – William and Catherine in particular. While the couple try to ignore such conjecture, the sad truth is that it has added an unbearable layer of strain to their lives, one that has proved to be downright distressing at times.

Kate was sick last year: What most will not appreciate is that Catherine had actually been unwell for some time in the run up to her initial abdominal surgery in January (further details of which have not been made public yet by Kensington Palace). It was only after that ‘planned’ operation, of course, which left her in hospital for two weeks, that her cancer was discovered. As always she hid her suffering well, but those who know her are keen to emphasise just what a tough time it has been. ‘I don’t think people realise how much she has gone through behind the scenes and for how long, far longer than anyone actually appreciates,’ says one. ‘She’s an incredibly strong woman, but she really has been through the wars. Her treatment and recovery is still a priority and will be ongoing for some time to come.’

A slow-build for Kate’s schedule: This means that far from hitting the ground running in the autumn, as some might have hoped after her glowing appearance at the weekend, it will continue to be a ‘slow build’ for the princess, taking on things as and when she feels physically – and, no doubt, mentally – strong enough. She is likely to continue to attend keynote national events, such as Remembrance Sunday.

A fabulous summer vacation: However, I am told things are finally ‘moving in the right direction‘ and the couple and their young family have enjoyed a ‘fabulous’ summer so far in Norfolk, living at Anmer Hall, their home and sanctuary on the monarch’s Sandringham estate. Spending time outdoors – cycling, sailing, and hanging out with family and friends – has put colour back in all their cheeks. ‘They made a clear and conscious decision to take time out as a family this summer. Seeing them both looking so happy and relaxed with each other and so comfortable in each other’s company tells you a lot about where they are,’ one insider remarks, suggesting that old adage ‘what doesn’t break you, makes you stronger’ is as true for the royals as it is for the rest of us.

Bearded Huevo: William has even cut loose and grown some stubble – his summer ‘dad beard’ – which has gone down so well on social media that some in his circle are jokingly advising him to keep it come the autumn. ‘It’s his “Hot Dad Summer”, laughs one, a play on the “Hot Girl Summer” trend so loved by Gen Z. Not that William, 42, planned to take the internet by storm. ‘We thought that having [the notorious rapper] Snoop Dogg in the video [to congratulate Great Britain’s Olympic team] would be what caught everyone’s eye. Instead all people are talking about is the beard! Everyone finds it very funny,’ I’m told.

A few more notes – English says that William will return to work when the kids go back to school, and his schedule will be fuller (fuller than Kate’s, in any case). English also indicated that the Wales family has not gone to Scotland yet, but they’ll try to go towards the end of August. The broad strokes… Kate won’t be seen much this fall. Her next appearance will probably be on Remembrance Day in November. She will not work at all for a very long time. I also find it curious that they’re now admitting that Kate – who looked completely awful last fall – was in poor health back then and no one had any idea. If only a princess could use her huge international platform to simply tell people that she was in poor health and educate people on her (still mysterious) condition? At some point, the palace and the press have to admit that William and Kate’s privacy obsession and general incompetence at maintaining that privacy is what led to so many of the issues they faced this year.

The stuff about internet trolls… like, even if you’re buying everything that the palace is putting out about Kate, it seems pretty rich to blast “the fetid depths of social media” when it came to people trying to figure out why Kensington Palace was lying and why William threw his sick wife under the bus over a manipulated photo. It’s also pretty rich to act snotty about “people speculating on the internet” when William and Kate were far from open and honest about WTF was going on for months and months. Not to mention that the Mail’s royal reporters never had that kind of smoke for all of the cruel, vile, hateful and racist sh-t being said about Meghan online and in the tabloids when the poor woman was pregnant.

Photos courtesy of KensingtonRoyal’s Twitter, Cover Images and Avalon Red.