Justin Welby has weighed in on the treatment of Kate on social media (Pictures: PA/Getty)
The Archbishop of Canterbury has slammed the wild conspiracy theories swirling around Kate Middleton and her time outside the public eye.
Justin Welby described the frenzied speculation about the condition of the Princess of Wales as ‘old-fashioned village gossip’.
His comments come just days after the private London Clinic where Kate had her operation in January launched a probe into three staff members for allegedly trying to access her medical files.
It is thought that King Charles’s medical files were not compromised during the alleged breach following his treatment at the same clinic for an enlarged prostate earlier this year.
Archbishop Welby said people should be allowed to be ill and to ‘live their lives in peace without everybody demanding that they prove something every other day’.
Speaking to Times Radio, he said: ‘We’re obsessed with conspiracy and we have little sense of the humanity of those who are caught in the glare of the news.’
He continued: ‘It’s the web that has made these conspiracy theories, for all kinds of people, run riot.
Kate Middleton has been under intense scrutiny since her abdominal surgery in January (Credits: Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty Images)
‘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’.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has also defended Kate and her right to privacy as she continues to recover from abdominal surgery.
He said that people should ‘butt out’ and leave her alone after her ‘difficult operation’.
‘It’s a human response as a dad and a human being’, he told Channel 5’s Jeremy Vine.
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A smiling Kate was spotted at a farm shop in Windsor with Prince William on Saturday, walking with her hair down and dressed in casual athleisure clothes
Footage of the pair sparked absurd conspiracy theories claiming the woman in the video was not the princess.
A BBC reporter stirred controversy by criticising the way the sighting was reported and alleging it was ‘clearly not’ Kate.
An earlier Mother’s Day picture editing mishap did not help quash rumours, although the future queen apologised for the mistake in a tweet.
Major news agencies issued ‘kill notices’ over the family snap, saying Kensington Palace was ‘no longer a trusted source’.
The family snap, taken by Prince William, led to the ‘Kategate’ drama (Credits: PA/Reuters)
Kate and her team are now said to be preparing for her return to royal duties after Easter, although she has been working from home on an early years project to help babies.
She may not return to the job until Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis start their summer term at Lambrook School in Berkshire on April 17.
Kate is not the only royal struggling with their health, with King Charles undergoing cancer treatment.
King Charles was pictured leaving his Westminster home (Credits: Peter Macdiarmid/LNP)
The monarch was spotted leaving Clarence House yesterday.
Charles is ‘doing very well’, Queen Camilla told crowds in Belfast on Thursday during a two-day visit to Northern Ireland.
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