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By CNN Royal Correspondent Max Foster, Lauren Said-Moorhouse and Callum Sutherland in London

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It's been a challenging week for royal reporting. We've been all too aware the conversation surrounding the British royal family has boiled over.
 
General discourse about specific members of the clan is par for the course but the past few days have seen gossip, rumors and truly wild conspiracy theories take on a life of their own. The chatter has moved beyond the realm of royal-watchers into the wider social media, where discussion about missing royals has run rampant and unchecked.
 
The frenzied speculation stems from Prince William's absence from an important family gathering on Tuesday. He had been expected to join Queen Camilla as well as his uncles, aunts and cousins at a memorial service for his late godfather and former King of Greece, Constantine II, who died last year.

But as the event was getting underway at St. George's Chapel in Windsor, royal insiders revealed the Prince of Wales had pulled out due to a personal matter. William, a source told CNN, had called the Greek royal family to let them know of his last-minute change of plans.  
 
Skipping events doesn't normally spark the sort of theorizing that has ensued. Go back two years and there simply wouldn't have been the same level of online speculation that we've witnessed in recent days.
 
But many have been left unsettled by the seemingly never-ending run of recent royal heartache and health scares. The death of Queen Elizabeth II, and both King Charles III and Catherine, Princess of Wales getting ill soon after, plus the fact that we haven't seen Kate since Christmas Day, have all contributed to the speculation. 
 
The series of devastating blows was further compounded with the sudden death of Thomas Kingston, the husband of the King's cousin Lady Gabriella, at the age of 45. It is understood that William's non-attendance was not tied to the news of Kingston's death, which was revealed publicly on the same day as Constantine's memorial.

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The royal source wouldn't be drawn on exactly what had prevented William from going to the service. With that lack of clarity, people have linked his absence with that of his wife, Kate, who is still at home recuperating from surgery. Many saw the prince's recent return to royal duties as a signal that the prognosis in the Wales household was improving quickly. 
 
Others have suggested it should have been easy for the heir to the throne to join his wider family at Windsor Castle as he only lives a roughly five-minute drive away at Adelaide Cottage and as his three children were at school when the event was taking place. 
 
If the role of monarchy is presence, continuity and unity, it was a stark visual seeing the royal family enter the chapel without several key senior faces among them.
 
It's worth emphasizing that the royal source told us that Kate "continues to be doing well" in her recovery. And even though the palace was clear from the outset that the Princess of Wales' recuperation would take her away from public duties for several months after her abdominal operation, people are still trying to fill in the gaps.

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Kensington Palace made a rare move in the face of the speculation on Kate's whereabouts and health, with a spokesperson saying on Thursday that the palace "made it clear in January the timelines of the Princess' recovery and we'd only be providing significant updates. That guidance stands."
 
While William wasn't present at the memorial service on Tuesday, his diary hasn't been cleared of public events and he was back in action on Thursday. 

The palace has been trying to give us as much information as it can without compromising medical privacy. This is the challenge of an age-old monarchy operating in a transformed landscape, where people expect information immediately. It's not always that the public is being insensitive, but rather that people care and want to know why someone they are used to seeing has disappeared from public view.
 
As a society, we're accustomed to having information at our fingertips and there is an instinctive desire to fill the void. An example of plugging holes in gaps of knowledge is best represented in Netflix's "The Crown." It was initially based on historical record but as seasons moved closer to the present day, writers and producers were forced to dramatize moments for storytelling purposes.
 
The reality is that no one - beyond those immediately involved - knows exactly why William pulled out of this family event or how Kate is feeling day-to-day. 

As royal reporters, we pride ourselves on facts and accuracy. One question we have asked ourselves is: At what point do we address rumors without amplifying misinformation and conjecture? While we want to provide the public with answers, we also want to be sensitive to the fact that there are human beings at the heart of the institution. 

The latest developments have emphasized that, while the Waleses are public servants, they are also people vulnerable to the same struggles we all face.

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Demonstrating the family's long-held compassion for those whose lives have been dismantled by the war in Ukraine, Queen Camilla met with the country's first lady, Olena Zelenska, on Thursday. As the conflict with Russia passed the two-year mark last week, Zelenska thanked Camilla for King Charles' message of support (more on that below). The pair met at Clarence House, the King and Queen's London residence. 

While the specifics of their conversation have remained private, we know that Camilla shared how the United Kingdom has been thinking of Ukraine on the second anniversary of the conflict, and the two are believed to have discussed the impact that the war has had on women and children in particular. The meeting was just the latest show of solidarity from a British royal toward the victims of conflict, after Prince William last week urged an end to the fighting in Gaza as soon as possible.

Prince William expresses concern over rising UK antisemitism.

With incidents of antisemitism on the increase across the UK in recent months, Prince William made a visit to the Western Marble Arch Synagogue in London on Thursday. During the visit, the Prince of Wales was told about how the synagogue supports local Jewish communities and is tackling this rise in antisemitism.  William also met with Holocaust survivor Renee Salt, as well as several young ambassadors who have been involved with a recent "Lessons from Auschwitz" project that educates young people on the consequences of antisemitism. The visit comes as the devastating Israel-Gaza conflict continues. Family members of Israeli hostages are currently marching in protest from near the Gaza Strip to Jerusalem, and the death toll of Palestinians in Gaza reached a somber 30,000 on the same day as William's visit. 

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Prince Harry reacts to court loss... 

After losing a significant court challenge this week, Prince Harry has come back with a fiery response. The prince took legal action against the UK Home Office, which revoked taxpayer-funded protection after he stood down from royal duties in 2020.  On Wednesday, a UK court ruled that the decision was justified and "not marred by procedural unfairness." The Duke of Sussex will appeal the decision, his legal spokesperson told CNN. "The Duke is not asking for preferential treatment, but for a fair and lawful application of RAVEC's (Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures) own rules, ensuring that he receives the same consideration as others," the spokesperson said. Read our full story here.

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...before making a surprise video appearance. 

The duke didn't let his legal woes stop him from making an unexpected virtual appearance at Wednesday evening's Sport Gives Back Awards in London. As the foundation patron for the Invictus Games, Harry paid a personal tribute to Josh Boggi, the organization's community liaison manager. In his video message, the Duke of Sussex said: "Josh, you are a truly remarkable human. There is no-one in the world who deserves this more; you are the personification of resilience." Boggi lost both legs and his right arm while serving with the British Army in Afghanistan. He has since found a passion for cycling, and leads crucial recovery work for fellow injured servicemen and women. 

Princess Anne is in the United Arab Emirates today, where she will be taking a tour at the Middle East's busiest port and opens new facilities at Al-Minhad Air Base. At DP World's Jebel Ali Port, the Princess Royal will be meeting with workers and the port's operations team to discuss innovation. While at the air base, she will open the new Donnelly Lines facilities to support British service personnel on site, followed by a dinner in Dubai with representatives from The Mission to Seafarers, of which she is president. 

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After what was previously described by Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, as a "near catastrophic" paparazzi car chase in New York last May, it appears the New York Police Department (NYPD) are in agreement after conducting their own investigations. 

In a document released as part of Harry's Home Office court challenge, the NYPD's Chief of Intelligence on December 6, 2023 described the behavior of paparazzi in pursuit of the couple as "reckless." The force's probe found "disregard of vehicle and traffic laws and persistently dangerous and unacceptable behavior on the part of paparazzi during the night in question."

This conduct led the couple's security, including the NYPD, to "take evasive actions on several occasions... to avoid being struck by pursuing vehicles," the document revealed.

It was reportedly a scene of chaos last year, as Harry and Meghan left the Ms. Foundation's Women of Vision awards in the Big Apple. A member of the royal security detail present that evening said that a dozen cars followed in pursuit of the couple, putting the public in "jeopardy at several points."

"Despite the tremendous hardship and pain inflicted upon them, Ukrainians continue to show the heroism with which the world associates them so closely. Theirs is true valour, in the face of indescribable aggression. My heart goes out to all those affected, as I remember them in my thoughts and prayers."

– King Charles III

The King paid tribute to the "determination and strength" of the Ukrainian people on Saturday, as he marked the second anniversary of Russia's invasion. The monarch highlighted this spirit which he has seen first-hand in meetings with President Volodymyr Zelensky, his wife and other Ukrainians living in the UK. Read the full message here.