I’m a Royal Reporter and I’m Convinced Today’s Princess Anne News Is a Direct Result of Those Kate Middleton Conspiracy Theories In an era of conspiracy theories, such as after Kate Middleton initially disappeared from the…

In an era of conspiracy theories, such as after Kate Middleton initially disappeared from the public eye, Buckingham Palace has had to change how they share royal health news. This could be seen with this week’s Princess Anne health scare. Read more here.

Certainly royal well-wishers are relieved to hear that she is alright and expected to recover fully. But the speed and level of detail with which the news came prove one undeniable fact: The palace has no choice but to be fully transparent.

what were once personal or private health matters that might be kept from the public are now automatically shared on social media as soon as possible. Why? After the Princess Catherine debacle, it seems unthinkable that the palace would allow the conspiracy theorists to take charge of the news cycle once again. So yes, it has been a big year for royal health news, part of it due to the unprecedented nature of both Catherine and Charles’s diagnoses but also a large part of it due to the fact that the royals now have no choice but to keep us informed—and quickly, before “sources” are quoted and things begin to spiral.

Yes, I’m fully aware that the royals are public figures (who receive public money) and therefore a certain level of scrutiny is to be expected. But for better or worse, the Princess of Wales developments from earlier this year have changed the royal family—and its PR machine—for good. I’ll stay tuned for updates from the palace.