How Prince William and Kate Middleton Reportedly Feel About the "Speculation Around Their Marriage"

Unless you've been living under a rock, you've most likely seen the vast amounts of royal family conspiracy theories surrounding Kate Middleton's well-being and her marriage to Prince William. Well, it turns out, Middleton and William have also seen the rumors ("They follow the news and see the BBC breaking news alerts.") — and they're just "trying to keep things as normal as possible."

In a story from The U.K. Sunday Times, sources and friends close to the family weighed in on how the controversy has affected the Prince and Princess of Wales. In the midst of Middleton's ongoing recovery following a planned abdominal surgery earlier this year, the public began to speculate that her absence could point to marital issues between the two, but the Cambridges just find these rumors to be "cruel."

“Social media has provided the media with plenty of content, and the speculation around their marriage is just cruel," a friend told The Times. "These are people with three small children going through the hardest time they’ve had to go through as a family, with that as an awful backdrop. They are trying to keep things as normal as possible for the kids, but it’s not easy.”

Another insider added that this has been a very difficult time for William. He sees parallels between the "hounding" of his late mother, Princess Diana, and now his wife. His “greatest fears” include “history repeating itself” with Middleton.

“William has always made it clear he wants to shield his family and friends from the madness of some media where he can," the source added. "He is approaching this from his desire to protect Kate and his family and not get drawn into the media and social media craziness. Kate is smart, tough, resilient, and has good common sense. They will keep their cool heads over it. The public should leave her to recover in peace and leave William to do both his job as the Prince of Wales and his job of looking after his wife and his family as best he can.”

Elsewhere in the report, a source shared that Middleton will likely open up about her procedure eventually but that it will be in her own time. "They are at their most open when out interacting with members of the public, and I can see a world in which the princess might discuss her recovery out on engagements," a source said. "If she was going to do it, that’s how she would do it.”

A friend added, “They will want to be clear and more open, but they’ll do it when they feel ready. I would expect that to be her instinct and it will be her call. They’re not going to be rushed.”