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By CNN Royal Correspondent Max Foster, Lauren Said-Moorhouse and Billy Stockwell in London

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The unprecedented frenzy of speculation swirling around Catherine, Princess of Wales took yet another turn this week after her medical records were reportedly breached.
 
To recap: The 42-year-old royal stepped away from public life temporarily in January following surgery for a non-cancerous abdominal condition. Despite Kensington Palace making it clear the princess was "unlikely to return to public duties until after Easter," her absence has generated extraordinary levels of amateur sleuthing on social media.
 
Journalism industry terms like "handouts" and "kill notices" have entered the vernacular as gossip-lovers have dived head-first down the online royal rabbit hole.
 
Even when Kate was spotted in public for the first time since her surgery, visiting a farm shop last weekend, the bizarre conspiracy theories about her health and whereabouts continued to circulate unabated -- even though they were easily debunked.
 
And now there are concerns that employees at the hospital where Kate received her treatment may have tried to obtain her private medical records. It was not immediately clear if the alleged data breach was successful, but several British media outlets citing the Daily Mirror tabloid reported on Thursday that up to three staff members were being investigated. The London Clinic has said that "all appropriate investigatory, regulatory and disciplinary steps will be taken," after a government data privacy watchdog confirmed it was investigating an alleged data breach.
 
This alleged incident is not the first time Catherine's medical privacy has been compromised. Previously, while she was pregnant with her first child in 2012, an Australian radio station prank-called the hospital the princess was in and tricked a nurse into revealing her private medical information, which was then broadcast.
 
For many internet commentators, the intrigue is the palace's own doing, and the mystery of the missing princess could have been avoided if the institution had a better PR strategy. The argument from keyboard warriors is that the old protocol of "never complain, never explain" doesn't work any more.
 
As expected, the palace hasn't made any official statements in recent days. After all, it said from the beginning it would only provide updates when there was something significant to share. It has also redirected any questions on the possible privacy breach back to the hospital. However, a spokesman for Kensington Palace told CNN that the "princess has been kept updated throughout the process." 

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And herein lies its strategy. Aides know they aren't looking after a run-of-the-mill celebrity, and the normal rules of fame don't apply to members of the Windsor clan. The palace doesn't respond to every rumor that pops up. To do so would legitimize them -- and it would never get anything else done. The royals are playing the long game -- a strategy they have used for the past 1,000 years -- and don't respond to speculation. But this level of speculation has never been seen before, which is making people question whether their communication strategy is still relevant. 
 
The suggestion that Kate's privacy has been breached once more has sobered many here in Britain, where public opinion has started to shift again. While many still see the editing of photos as problematic, there is also a growing chorus of well-known voices calling for restraint in the spread of conspiracy theories.
 
Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby warned that the online chatter had gotten out of hand and was "extremely unhealthy."
 
"We are obsessed with conspiracy, and we have little sense of the humanity of those who are caught in the glare of the news," he said on Times Radio. "It doesn't matter who it is, people should be allowed to be ill, have an operation, whatever it is, and to live their lives in peace, without everyone demanding that they prove something every other day."
 
Welby continued, "It's the Web that has made these conspiracy theories, for all kinds of people, run riot. It's extremely unhealthy. It's just old-fashioned village gossip that can now go round the world in seconds. We have to turn away from that. Gossiping in that way is wrong."
 
The archbishop is not alone in his call for calm. UK opposition leader Keir Starmer said Wednesday that everyone should "butt out" of the princess' business and "leave her alone" as she recovers.
 
Meanwhile, former England cricket captain Kevin Pietersen pulled no punches while hitting out at the social chatter. "The conspiracy theories around Kate are absolutely absurd," he said in a post on X. He added that it "beggars belief that people would be so ridiculous and cruel" and ended by calling for people to "leave her and her beautiful family alone."  
 
There are strict privacy laws in the United Kingdom. Under Section 170 of the Data Protection Act 2018, it is an offense for a person to obtain, disclose or procure the personal data of another person without their consent.
 
In the wake of the alleged attempt, the country's data privacy watchdog, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), restated that all healthcare organizations must keep patient data secure.
 
Stephen Bonner, the ICO's deputy commissioner, said "every patient, no matter who they are, has the right to privacy."
 
He said breaches were "rare" but that when one does occur "the ICO is here to get to the bottom of when, how and why it happened -- and how we can prevent it from happening again."
 
The allegation of misconduct has quickly gone up to the highest echelons of government, with UK Health Minister Maria Caulfield on Wednesday describing the seriousness of the alleged incident. She told British broadcaster Sky News there were "very strict rules about which patient notes you can access" and that in the case of such a breach, the ICO "would take enforcement action." 
 
The latest episode in the royal saga has been eye-opening to many and may perhaps offer a moment of reflection for both the public and the palace.

King Charles’ medical records not compromised after alleged Kate data breach.

The personal medical records of King Charles III were not accessed in the alleged data breach at a London hospital, according to multiple British media outlets, including CNN affiliate ITV. The King, who is currently undergoing treatment for cancer, was being treated separately at the same hospital for an enlarged prostate and left hours after his daughter-in-law on January 29. Buckingham Palace said it had no comment when approached by CNN on Thursday morning. Find out more on this story.

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Opinion: What the Kate photo controversy is really about. 

Before the alleged data breach, the Princess of Wales controversy had already blown up in an unexpected way. In the days after an edited photograph of Kate and her three children was recalled by global photo agencies, the debate shifted from wild speculation over the princess' whereabouts to a moral panic about the British royal family's apparent history of doctoring photos presented to the public as candids. 

So, Kate touches up her photos. Who doesn't these days? In an op-ed for CNN, Laura Beers, a professor of history at American University in Washington, DC, looks at the ongoing photo controversy and in the process points out that royals have been enhancing their imagery for centuries (after all, those olde portraits weren't exactly warts 'n' all!). Read the full story here.

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Trump says Kate’s edited photo 'shouldn’t be a big deal.'

Former President Donald Trump has weighed in on the controversy surrounding the edited photograph, saying it "shouldn't be a big deal, because everybody doctors." In an interview with Britain's GB News, aired on Tuesday, the Republican Party's presumptive presidential nominee said: "It was a very minor doctoring. I don't understand why there could be such a howl over that." Trump also warned Prince Harry that "appropriate action" would be taken if he had lied about past drug use on his US visa application, adding that the prince should not receive special treatment. Harry, who lives in California and is no longer a working member of the British royal family, admitted to taking recreational drugs in his 2023 memoir "Spare." Read the full story here.

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Prince Harry targets Rupert Murdoch in phone-hacking lawsuit.

Rupert Murdoch is at risk of being personally dragged into another major lawsuit. Lawyers for Prince Harry and a number of other notable public figures, including Guy Ritchie and Hugh Grant, asked a UK court on Wednesday for permission to amend their lawsuit against Murdoch's British newspaper company, leveling the explosive allegation that the billionaire media mogul was personally involved in covering up wrongdoing. The lawsuit, filed in 2019, accuses News Group Newspapers, the parent company of the Sun tabloid and the defunct News of the World, of illegal privacy invasions, including hacking. The illicit behavior occurred from the mid-1990s until 2016, according to the lawsuit. Find out more from CNN Business.

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King Charles III met privately with Korean War veterans at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday morning to mark the 1953 signing of the armistice agreement that ended the "Forgotten War." As he is still away from public-facing duties, his sister, Anne, the Princess Royal and Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh hosted a reception afterward in recognition of the 60,000 service personnel from Britain and the Commonwealth who served in the war, 1,100 of whom died. News of Charles continuing his duties behind the scenes came as false rumors spread online regarding his health. 

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On the same day that his father, Charles, met with war veterans in London, Prince William traveled to the northern English city of Sheffield to unveil two new initiatives to help tackle homelessness. Sheffield is one of six locations across the UK that are being supported by his "Homewards" initiative, a program launched by the Prince of Wales last summer to "give people across the UK hope that homelessness can be prevented when we collaborate," William said at the time. 

As part of Tuesday's announcement, British retailer Homebase pledged $1.2 million (£1 million) to support families and individuals experiencing or at risk of homelessness in Sheffield and other cities around the UK. This will fund 1,500 "House Starter Packs," including essentials like paint, furniture and flooring, for those moving into new accommodation. Local landlords in Sheffield also came forward to pledge 33 properties for families "on the brink of or experiencing homelessness" in the city, according to Kensington Palace. 

It is not the first homelessness project that the Prince of Wales has championed. Tuesday's royal visit follows the launch of another housing initiative earlier this year, which will see William's private Duchy of Cornwall estate used to host 24 new properties to support people in the area affected by homelessness.

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The Queen undertook a series of official engagements in Northern Ireland on Thursday, in her second visit to the region since King Charles III’s coronation last year. On her arrival on Wednesday evening, Camilla was greeted by a bugler from the Hillsborough Fort Guard at Hillsborough Castle, Northern Ireland's royal residence, according to the UK’s PA Media news agency.

“In a world where freedoms are continually being challenged and our values scrutinized, your selfless courage and steadfast pursuit of peace are guiding principles which have not been forgotten and continue to inspire generations to come.” 

– King Charles III

Princess Anne read a warm message of gratitude from her brother, King Charles, as she hosted a Buckingham Palace reception on his behalf for Korean War veterans on Tuesday.

CNN’s Catherine Nicholls contributed to this week’s newsletter.