Kensington Palace 'Scares' Royal Fans With Black and White Photo of Prince William and Kate Middleton on Their 13th Anniversary
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GLENROTHES, UNITED KINGDOM - FEBRUARY 25: (EMBARGOED FOR PUBLICATION IN UK NEWSPAPERS UNTIL 48 HOURS AFTER CREATE DATE AND TIME) Prince William and Kate Middleton visit the University of St Andrews as part of it's 600th anniversary celebrations at University of St Andrews on February 25, 2011 in Glenrothes, Scotland. (Photo by Indigo/Getty Images)
Prince William and Kate Middleton are celebrating 13 years of marriage today, April 29, 2024, but some fans thought there was cause for concern when Kensington Palace posted the anniversary announcement on Instagram.
The official social media account for the Prince and Princess of Wales uploaded a formal portrait from the couple's wedding day filtered in black and white, captioned with a sweet and simple, "13 years ago today!" and credited to photographer Millie Pilkington, who has taken several snapshots for the royal family.
It seems innocuous enough, but several folks expressed their initial fears in the comments when first seeing a photo with all color edited out appear on their feeds, having thought the worst before scrolling on to the caption.
"Black and white photo? This scares me!" one wrote, while others suggested they "nearly threw up," "almost faint[ed]" or "almost [had] a heart attack" over the darkened image.
"I was shocked..." wrote another. "I thought it was sad news... because the photo was black and white."
Fans, of course, have been profoundly concerned over Middleton's health amid her cancer diagnosis and absence from the public eye, leading to countless conspiracy theories dubbed "#KateGate," and some worried that something had happened to her when the black and white photo—a filter often used in death announcements—popped up.
"there’s definitely something going on that we don’t know about… even the wording is sus," another accused. "No 'happy anniversary', just says 'thirteen years ago' 😳🤔"—however, last year's post was captioned with an equally simple "12 years ❤️."
Other fans came to the couple's defense, shutting down the idea of any "sinister undertone[s]" in the post and calling for an end to the hysteria.
"it’s a beautiful picture," one wrote. "Stop trying to fuel stupid conspiracy theories."
"What a magical day!! It has been so fun to go on this journey with you both!" another asserted. "Continued prayers for health and happiness! 🥂."
