Kate Middleton's ongoing recovery from planned abdominal surgery has left her feeling "fragile" and has shaken her confidence, according to royal expert Jennie Bond. The Princess of Wales, 42, is expected to return to public duties sometime after Easter, but her progress may be hampered by her uncle Gary Goldsmith's appearance on the UK's "Celebrity Big Brother."
Goldsmith, the brother of the princess's mother Carole Middleton, has been making on-air comments about his royal niece, which may be causing the princess undue stress. "Clearly whatever's happened to Catherine, she's probably feeling fragile-mentally as well," Bond told The Mirror. "To have a serious setback like this at the prime of your life, it must knock your confidence and so she'll be fragile at this stage in her recovery and to have this thrown at her. She must just be thinking, 'Why, why, why did Uncle Gary have to do this?' I imagine she's thoroughly depressed about it."
Goldsmith addressed Kate's health battle on "Celebrity Big Brother" earlier this week, following feverish global speculation about her whereabouts. He said the princess was receiving the "best care in the world" following her two-week stint in a London hospital in January and added that "all the family has put the wagons down" to rally around the royal.
However, Bond believes Goldsmith could be pretending to be closer to Kate than he actually is. "I don't think it's a particularly close relationship and I don't think he's part of the 'inner circle' anymore-I think he's increasingly been pushed outside that circle now," she stated.
The royal expert also suggests that Goldsmith's appearance on the reality show will inevitably cause damage to the royals and will likely have left Kate "thoroughly depressed." Bond questions whether Goldsmith informed Carole Middleton about his decision to appear on the show, saying, "I rather doubt that he did tell her because she would have been against it and there would have been a massive family row!"
Bond predicts that Goldsmith's Celebrity Big Brother stint will hinder William and Kate in the long run and cause a family rift. "In the end, I think it will hinder and it will cause a family rift and we've heard enough about the royals not getting on," she says. "I think they're trying to portray the image of unity-Harry's gone his way and we've even seen Andrew has been accepted on the odd family occasion. They are not just a monarchy, it is a royal family and they've tried to show that they are a loving and affectionate family. So having a potential rift now between Catherine and Carole is not a good look."
Since her surgery, Middleton has reportedly been recovering in her home at Adelaide Cottage in Windsor. On Monday, the mother of three was spotted for the first time since her surgery alongside her mother Carole, 69, sitting in the passenger seat of a car. Her last public appearance was on Christmas Day, where she attended church at Sandringham with her husband Prince William and their three children.
Kensington Palace has stated that they will only provide significant updates on the princess's recovery, with her office telling The Post last week that she was "doing well."
As the Princess of Wales continues her recovery, the added stress of her uncle's Celebrity Big Brother appearance and the potential for family rifts may hinder her progress. The royal family's aim to portray an image of unity and affection may be tested by Goldsmith's decision to appear on the reality show, leaving Kate Middleton "fragile" and "thoroughly depressed" during an already challenging time in her life.
