Kate Middleton latest news: Palace speaks out on her health rumours as uncle criticised for ‘putting spotlight’ on her

The Duchess of Sussex is set to join a panel discussion with Brooke Shields and Katie Couric on women’s representation in entertainment and media tonight.

Meghan will be one of the panelists at a South by Southwest (SXSW) talk titled “Breaking Barriers, Shaping Narratives: How Women Lead On and Off the Screen”.

“Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex, Katie Couric, Brooke Shields, Nancy Wang Yuen, and Errin Haines are the perfect finishing touch to eight days of remarkable Keynote Speakers,” said Hugh Forrest, Co-President and Chief Programming Officer.

“We are so honored to host this distinguished group on International Women’s Day for a significant discussion on the importance of representation in media and entertainment.”

The Duke of Sussex has been double-nominated at the British Book Awards for his controversial memoir Spare, as those up for gongs were celebrated for “starting conversations and pushing boundaries”.

The 39-year-old royal’s headline-grabbing book – in which he accused his brother, the Prince of Wales, of pushing him into a dog bowl in a row over the Duchess of Sussex – has been shortlisted for two book of the year prizes.

Harry used the tell-all book to make various claims about his family including that William called Meghan “difficult”, “rude” and “abrasive”, that the King was jealous of the Prince and Princess of Wales and Charles refused to allow the Duchess of Sussex to join the Duke in Scotland as the late Queen was dying.

The ghost-written autobiography has been given nods in the categories of narration audiobook non-fiction, which the Duke of Sussex provided, and non-fiction: narrative.

Prince William is set to continue his royal duties today as he visits the Oval cricket ground.

The Prince of Wales will step out this afternoon to celebrate an Earthshot Prize winner’s new contract supplying sustainable packaging for use in sporting venues.

William, who founded the prize to recognise and scale up projects to repair the planet, will join Pierre Paslier, co-founder and co-chief executive officer of Notpla, to hear about his company’s multi-million pound deal.

Notpla’s seaweed-based products will be supplied to Levy, a leading sports and entertainment caterer, for use in more than 50 venues from the Oval to Wimbledon’s All England Lawn Tennis Club and London’s O2 Arena.

The prince has been instrumental in helping support the relationship between Levy and Notpla, which in 2022 won the build a waste-free world Earthshot category.

It’s earnest and informal, with first names and laidback lifestyle images, whilst also being unashamedly regal, with a coat of arms and official titles, even though Prince Harry promised his grandmother he’d never use his royal name for commercialisation. Many royal watchers were furious to see them still brandishing their coat of arms as non-working royals – and using the wrong heraldry no less.

But it leaves the question hanging, if they are not royal, what are they? The late Queen declined Harry’s request to be a part-time royal, and yet, reading his website you’d think this is exactly what he is. Which leads to another question: in times of need, could a hybrid Harry ever work?

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Speaking to Sharon Osbourne on the reality show on Tuesday, the 58-year-old said of Harry: “I think it’s really sad. At some point, I think he’s going to come back and be part of the gang – he might need to. I think we’re a very forgiving nation, I think everyone would give him a chance.”

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The Palace has broken its silence over unfounded conspiracy theories about Kate Middleton’s health being shared on social media.

The Princess of Wales, 42, was seen for the first time in public two days ago after she was admitted to hospital for abdominal surgery in January for an unspecified condition. Gossip website TMZ snapped the princess in an Audi 4×4 near Windsor, alongside her mother Carole Middleton.

The exact details of the princess’s condition have not been revealed but the Palace said previously it was not cancer-related, and that Kate wished her personal medical information to remain private.

It’s been an exhausting 12 months for “The Firm”, with everything from major health shocks such as King Charles’s cancer diagnosis to severe embarrassment caused by Prince Andrew’s much-publicised friendship with late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

So, pictures of Gary Goldsmith, who is the brother of Kate’s mother Carole Middleton, picking out fancy suits in Soho ahead of Monday night’s launch of CBB on ITV will only induce shudders from those in Buckingham Palace who fear he will create more unwanted headlines.

Arguably the relaunched show’s most controversial housemate, the 58-year-old has already come under strict orders from the family, with his sister “reading the riot” act over fears he will share secrets live on television.

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Anti-monarchists have criticised the £500,000 spent on the royal family’s military aides last year, revealed following a Freedom of Information (FoI) request.

Graham Smith, chief executive officer of Republic, described the aides, known as equerries who are drawn from the Armed Forces, as a “disgraceful use of highly trained military personnel”.

In its response to the FoI request from Republic, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said the “vast majority” of the costs would still have been incurred wherever the servicemen and women were posted.

Mr Smith said: “This is a disgraceful use of highly trained military personnel as window dressing for the King. I am calling on the military and Government to stop this practice immediately.

“We are often hearing that the military is stretched and under-staffed. With its additional commitments to Ukraine, how can the Government justify spending any of the country’s defence budget on people to open doors for Charles, Camilla and William?”

Equerries are an integral part of the offices of senior royals, with the King, Queen, Prince and Princess of Wales and Princess Royal having the aides who help organise their diaries and accompany them on official visits and overseas tours.

Some of the aides have risen to prominence after serving the royal family, with Lord Soames acting as Charles’ equerry in the early 1970s and going on to become a close friend of the King and serving as an MP for more than 30 years.

In its response to the FoI request, the MoD said it spent £506,681 on the equerries in 2023.

It added: “…you may find it helpful to note that the vast majority of costs come from fixed staff costs, which would still be incurred by the MOD regardless of where these personnel were employed.”

Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace have been contacted for comment.