Princess Kate Middleton’s uncle Gary Goldsmith refused to share too many details about his niece while appearing on Celebrity Big Brother U.K. — but confirmed that she is in good hands amid her ongoing recovery.
“Because she doesn’t want to talk about it, the last thing I’m going to do is [talk about it],” Gary, 58, told fellow contestant Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu during the season 23 premiere, per footage shared online. “There is a kind of code or etiquette. If it’s announced, I’ll give you an opinion.”
Gary did note, however, that he has spoken to both Kate’s mom, Carole Middleton, and sister, Pippa Middleton, and confirmed she is getting the “best care in the world” as she recovers. “All the family has put the wagons down and [are looking] after the family first before anything else,” he added. “They said, ‘She’s going to take some time to recoup and we’ll see you at Easter.’”
Gary, who is Carole’s younger brother, was confirmed as a cast member on the U.K. version of Big Brother earlier this week, where he called Kate “simply perfect” before sharing that she and her husband, Prince William, were “very normal” despite their royal titles.
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Although Gary was brief in his commentary about Kate’s health, he was also filmed discussing the princess while chatting with Sharon Osbroune and music manager Louis Walsh during the episode, which aired on Tuesday, March 6.
During their conversation, the self-proclaimed “bad boy” claimed that it’s often “difficult” to get ahold of his niece even “at the best of times,” according to Newsweek. He shared that she is often “busy” with her royal duties and children, Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, 5, but he loves “the fact that she’s putting family first.”
Kensington Palace announced in January that Kate would be taking a break from royal engagements in order to recover from a “planned” abdominal surgery and would likely return to her public duties sometime in spring.
“The Princess of Wales appreciates the interest this statement will generate,” the palace shared in their statement. “She hopes that the public will understand her desire to maintain as much normality for her children as possible; and her wish that her personal medical information remains private. … The Princess of Wales wishes to apologize to all those concerned for the fact that she has to postpone her upcoming engagements. She looks forward to reinstating as many as possible, as soon as possible.”
William, for his part, also pressed pause on his royal obligations to be by Kate’s side. Although he returned to work last month, rumors began to swirl online about the status of Kate’s whereabouts when the prince, 41, was forced to cancel an engagement on February 27 due to “personal reasons.”
Kate’s rep, however, quickly shut down the speculation, telling Us Weekly that “Kensington Palace made it clear in January the timelines of the princess’ recovery and we’d only be providing significant updates.” Less than one week later, Kate was spotted for the first time in two months when she was photographed driving around with her mother in photos obtained by TMZ.
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Kate’s surgery and subsequent recovery come amid King Charles III’s own health struggles. The monarch, 75, underwent a procedure for an enlarged prostate in January. He revealed the following month that he had been diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer.
While Charles has chosen to be open about his diagnosis, royal expert Gareth Russell told Us that the king’s decision to speak about his own health does not dictate how Kate should handle speaking about her own.
“Simply because one patient is comfortable discussing their health in a certain way does not mean both patients should be,” Russell told Us last month. “Just stepping back from the royal aspect of things for a moment, patient privacy is still a really important and a fundamental right. Sometimes when you are a patient, even if you have the ability to raise awareness, you are still maybe processing some of this yourself. Maybe you want to take it at your own timetable.”
