A policewoman stands guard outside The London Clinic.Kin Cheung/The Associated Press
The drama surrounding the health of the Princess of Wales has taken another twist with allegations that staff members at the London hospital where Catherine had surgery tried to access her medical records.
Britain’s Information Commissioner’s Office said Wednesday that it was investigating the breach. “We can confirm that we have received a breach report and are assessing the information provided,” the ICO said.
The Daily Mirror is reporting that at least three staff members at the London Clinic were caught trying to access the Princess’s medical notes in January while she was a patient, updating an initial report that said one employee was involved. Royal officials have said Catherine had abdominal surgery at the hospital but provided no further details except to say she was expected to return to royal duties after Easter.
The London Clinic is one of Britain’s largest private hospitals, famous for its discretion and celebrity clientele. The clinic’s patients have included other members of the Royal Family, as well as actress Elizabeth Taylor, who received treatment in 1963 after falling on a film set, and John F. Kennedy, who was diagnosed with Addison’s disease, an illness affecting the adrenal glands, in 1947, when he was a congressman.
The hospital’s chief executive said a full investigation would be conducted if a breach did occur.
“Everyone at the London Clinic is acutely aware of our individual, professional, ethical and legal duties with regards to patient confidentiality,” Al Russell said. “We have systems in place to monitor management of patient information and, in the case of any breach, all appropriate investigatory, regulatory and disciplinary steps will be taken.”
Maria Caulfield, the parliamentary undersecretary for the Department of Health and Social Care, said Wednesday that police have also been asked to investigate the allegation.
“There are particularly hefty implications if you are looking at notes for medical records that you should not be looking at,” Ms. Caulfield told LBC radio.
Kate, Princess of Wales, smiles during a visit to Sebby's Corner in north London, on Nov. 24, 2023.Frank Augstein/The Associated Press
Kensington Palace referred questions about the allegations to the hospital, which has not commented on the situation.
Public fascination with Catherine’s health has gone to bizarre extremes, with a flurry of conspiracy theories circulating online. The palace tried to address the issue earlier this month by releasing a photograph of Catherine and her three children taken by the Prince of Wales.
But the effort backfired after some of the world’s largest news services pulled the photo, saying it had been manipulated. Catherine later acknowledged that she edited the picture.
This week, another photo taken by Catherine came under scrutiny. The picture was released in April, 2023, in honour of what would have been the late Queen Elizabeth II’s 97th birthday. It was taken a few months before the Queen died in September, 2022, and included Elizabeth with some of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Getty Images and Reuters said this week that the photo had been altered. “Reuters is updating its procedures related to vetting images from Kensington Palace after confirming a second altered photograph,” the news service said in a statement.
Speculation about Catherine’s health and whereabouts intensified further after The Sun newspaper published a video this week of the Prince and Princess visiting a farm shop near their home in Windsor. The video was taken by a member of the public and shows Catherine smiling and looking healthy. But it too came under scrutiny for possible manipulation and led to suggestions on social media that the woman was a body double.
Robert Jobson, a royal commentator who has written a biography of Catherine, said Kensington Palace’s credibility has been badly damaged and officials will have to work hard to win back the public’s trust.
“If they can mess around with photographs, you doubt what they’re telling you. And I think that is a real problem that they face,” Mr. Jobson told the Foreign Press Association this week. “Ultimately the trust has been lost. So, I don’t really know how that is going to be rebuilt very quickly.”
He said he sympathizes with Catherine and officials who don’t want to release information about her condition. However, he said the palace has lost control of the story and allowed rumours to circulate wildly.
“I think that they had their heads buried firmly in the sand,” he said. “They missed the opportunity to deal with it and then they bungled that opportunity when they decided to do something about it.”
Kate, Britain's Princess of Wales, issued an apology on social media on March 11 for 'any confusion' caused by an edited photograph which was issued by her office at Kensington Palace on March 10.
Reuters