This week, Prince William stepped outside the royal box, so to speak. In an extremely rare move for the monarchy, the future King intervened in foreign policy by making a public statement calling for ‘an end to the fighting’ in Gaza as the Israel-Palestine conflict continues to escalate. The death toll in Gaza reached 29,000 this week, with The New York Times reporting that war and illness could kill more than 85,000 Palestinians over the next six months.

‘I remain deeply concerned about the terrible human cost of the conflict in the Middle East since the Hamas terrorist attack on 7 October, too many have been killed,’ William said in a statement signed by The Prince of Wales. ‘I, like so many others, want to see an end to the fighting as soon as possible. There is a desperate need for increase humanitarian support to Gaza. It’s critical that aid gets in, and hostages are released.’

William went on to say that the sheer scale of human suffering should bring home the importance of finding a solution for permanent peace. ‘Even in the darkest hour, we must not succumb to the counsel of despair,’ he said. ‘I continue to cling to the hope that a brighter future can be found, and I refuse to give up on that.’

His statement comes at a crucial time as infighting across the British government led to a chaotic debate in the House of Commons this week. When Labour called for a motion to vote on an ‘immediate humanitarian ceasefire’ in Gaza, the ensuing handling of the vote by Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle became so tense that some SNP and Tory MPs walked out of the chamber. Labour’s motion went through without a formal vote, instead relying on loud shouts of ‘aye’, but the government does not have to adopt Labour’s position as it was not a binding vote. Alas, despite all the chaos, last night’s vote has no effect on UK policy and even less on helping people in Gaza.

When you acknowledge the issues, and devastation, at the root of these stories what we’re about to say will seem ludicrous – and frankly, it is. Because, somehow in the twisted world of the internet, a story about Prince William calling for an end to unthinkable suffering has turned into salacious commentary on his marriage. Yes, really.

Royal obsessives have been picking apart William’s statement online, specifically that he signed the statement as from him alone, as opposed to ‘from The Prince and Princess of Wales’, which is the signature on most of their public statements. ‘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?’ one person questioned on Twitter. ‘What really happened to Kate? Why is he distancing himself from her so much?’

The first statement the tweeter was referring to is William and Kate’s shared statement on October 11th, 2023, when they condemned Hamas’ actions in Israel and expressed support for the victims involved.

Now, #WhereIsKate is a trending hashtag on social media, with some even suggesting that his statement shows they are living separately and are even getting divorced. ‘Ya’ll now witnessing the final act,’ one person tweeted in response to the statement. ‘How to announce a separation without announcing a separation.’

‘The marriage is over, and she is gradually being written out of the narrative,’ another tweeted. ‘I think it’s been coming even before QEII passed away, all the signs were there but the Queen had made it clear she wanted no more divorce. With her gone, nothing stopping him going solo.’

The discourse is, to put it mildly, quite the reach. Countless people are now sharing similar sentiments and questioning Kate’s absence from royal life. The Princess of Wales is currently taking a break from public duties to recover from major abdomen surgery and is not expected to return until after Easter. Kate was in hospital at The London Clinic for 12 days before returning home to Windsor and was said to be ‘making good progress’ according to a statement from Kensington Palace at the end of January.

Judging by public commentary, it seems that there is a faction of internet sleuths who simply don’t believe that Kate’s temporary withdrawal from royal life is as innocent as it seems. Alas, Kate and William appeared to predict the frenzy her medical leave would cause in their initial statement. ‘The Princess of Wales appreciates the interest this statement will generate,’ it read. ‘She hopes that the public will understand her desire to maintain as much normality for her children as possible; and her wish that her personal medical information remains private.’

The Palace went on to say that in that vein, updates on Kate’s condition would only be publicly shared when there was ‘significant new information’. Will the incessant internet rumours cause them to speak out further? We can only wait and see, but according to royal experts, the wild hearsay online needs to be put to bed.

‘I think people are reading too much into [William’s Gaza statement], Catherine is off work at the moment recovering from a major operation,’ says Katie Nicholl, author of The New Royals. ‘The most important thing about the statement is that it was unusual because yes, it’s a humanitarian appeal but it can also be deemed political. William would’ve known this statement was going to cause attention, and by bringing his wife into that statement he wouldn’t brought attention onto her at a time when she’s wanting to remain out of the public spotlight

‘My understanding is that William, behind the scenes, is being incredibly supportive,’ Nicholl continues. ‘He’s doing everything he can to be there for his wife and their three young children, while keeping the royal roadshow on the road with his father also going through cancer treatment. William is in one of the most difficult circumstances of his life at the moment. So much, both at home and in terms of duty, is falling on his shoulders and he’s stepping up as we would expect him to. We may even see him representing the King at next month’s Commonwealth Day service.
‘That’s where the attention needs to be, how William is stepping up is supporting his wife, father and young family, not on malicious gossip about the state of his marriage.’

Certainly, for all those claiming to support Kate while making these claims and furiously demanding ‘the real story’, surely one must realise that endless speculation about her marriage at such a vulnerable time is actually quite harmful? One would hope that the sentiment of William’s statement was the real focus here, so let’s turn our attention back to the horrendous suffering he speaks of instead. The humanitarian crisis currently unfolding in Gaza right now is what we should all be shouting about.