The Duke of Cambridge's decision to keep his coronavirus battle a secret has not been well received by everyone, with royal author Robert Jobson believing the prince showed “poor judgement” by not telling the truth.
“Prince William’s decision to LIE about contracting COVID-19 earlier - for whatever reason - is appalling,” Robert wrote on Twitter.
“KP were are asked several times by the media whether Prince William had contracted the virus and were told categorically ‘no’. This has created a serious issue of trust.”
“If the palace is prepared to LIE about an issue as serious as Prince William, second in line to the throne, contracting COVID-19 what else have they LIED about when questioned by the press and why should the media believe any denials going forward? This raises serious issues.”
However in the latest episode of the Royally Obsessed podcast, hosts Roberta Fiorito and Rachel Bowie discussed a theory as to why William's diagnosis was hushed up.
"Say the worst happened - the Queen at 94 passed away then Prince Charles passed away then Prince William passed away, all because they were hit by the virus," Roberta hypothesised.
"The next in line to the throne is George, and then Charlotte and Louis, and none of them are over the age of 18, which is where the Regency Act comes into play.
"That means a regent would rule in his place, and that person has to be over 21… the next in line of succession is Prince Harry, who had just left as of March 31, and moved to California and quit.
"Then after Prince Harry, the next available regent is Prince Andrew,” she added.
Roberta’s co-host Rachel then weighed in on the theory, saying: "Think of what the headlines would have been - panic is an understatement.
"People would obviously be spinning and hypothesising and speculating on what would happen, playing out all these scenarios. So I doubt it was William's choice to keep it a secret.
News of William's health battle were first brought to light by the UK's Sun newspaper, adding that the royal dad-of-three was struck down "pretty hard" by the virus.
"At one stage he was struggling to breathe, so obviously everyone around him was pretty panicked," the source alleged.
But despite his shock diagnosis, the prince was reportedly able to carry on with his regal duties, while undergoing treatment at his Norfolk home.
"After seeing medics and testing positive - which was obviously quite a shock given how fit and healthy he is - William was determined it should be business as usual though," the source claimed.
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