Kate Middleton photo drama: Cartoon and an affair, US media joins the poking fun game amid controversy

The saga around Princess of Wales Kate Middleton’s edited family picture doesn’t seem to end anytime soon, and now the US media has also jumped into it with its open mockery of the incident. The Washington Post published a cartoon on Prince William as Kensington Palace is yet to release the original photo, and ‘Late Show’ host Stephen Colbert spilled the ‘tea’ on his show on what might be the reason behind the absence of the princess.

The cartoon published by The Post was created by Pia Guerra, and it may take one to recall a scene from the famous 90s Christmas film ‘Home Alone’, in which Kevin (played by Macaulay Culkin) uses cutouts of different people to trick thieves into believing his family is present at the house.

It shows Prince William operating a cutout, which is seemingly of his wife Kate Middleton, using threads by placing it before a window.

Meanwhile, Colbert shared the ‘tea’ poured by multiple “internet sleuths” during the opening monologue of his ‘Late Show’ on March 12. According to the ‘tea’, Kate Middleton’s mysterious absence might have something to do with her husband Prince William’s affair with Lady Sarah Rose Hanbury, the Marchioness of Cholmondeley.

“My heart goes out to poor Kate,” Stephen Colbert said on his show.

Unconfirmed reports have been around since 2019 that Prince William and Lady Sarah Rose Hanbury are in a secret affair. In fact, Kate Middleton is said to have even confronted her husband about the rumours, but he “laughed it off saying there was nothing to it”, according to Cosmopolitan.

“Haha, always a good response when your wife accuses you of cheating,” Stephen Colbert poked fun.

Lady Sarah Rose Hanbury is married to David Cholmondeley, 7th Marquess of Cholmondeley, and a close friend of Prince William. For the uninitiated, marquess is a hereditary rank of the British nobility, just behind the duke, who sits at the top of the pecking order.

The Marchioness of Cholmondeley is reportedly part of Prince William and Kate Middleton’s ‘inner circle’. It is unknown if Kate and Sarah Rose had a falling out.

The Marchioness of Cholmondeley name popped up on social media this week amid the Kate-gate drama.

Kensington Palace is yet to address these rumours, even as Kate Middleton secretly recovers from abdominal surgery, said to have happened in January. Royal representatives said last month that no update on the Princess of Wales’ condition would be shared until she returned to duty after Easter

The Royal Family, meanwhile, has come under heavy scrutiny due to the photo controversy, which was triggered by a family portrait of Kate Middleton with her three children released by Kensington Palace on Mother’s Day. It said the picture was taken by Prince William at the family’s residence in Windsor.

However, many major news agencies pulled the picture later, claiming it appeared to have been AI-generated. Eventually, Kate Middleton apologised for the “confusion”, citing experimentation with “editing” as the reason.

The family picture was the first official one released by Kensington Palace since Kate Middleton’s abdominal surgery, and followed weeks of speculation regarding the Princess of Wales’ health and whereabouts.