A British television presenter and former reality television star is facing harsh blowback after she shared her thoughts on Kate Middleton’s looks over the weekend, pondering why the Princess of Wales has “aged so much.”
Good Morning Britain panelist Narinder Kaur asked the question on X (formerly Twitter), reposting an article about Middleton’s attendance at a Remembrance Sunday event in London.
Kaur, 51, wrote in the now-deleted post: “Genuine question – why has Kate aged so much? Isn’t she only 42? Is she a smoker? It’s the only explanation.”
The backlash was immediate, with Middleton fans calling Kaur “disgusting,” “hateful” and “vile,” and pointing out the princess recently completed chemotherapy treatments for cancer, is a busy mom to three kids and that all people experience aging.
At first, Kaur doubled down, replying to one person’s criticism by writing: “My brother had cancer…he didn’t age like that.”
Shortly after, however, the former Big Brother UK contestant took to the social media platform to apologize.
Get breaking National news
For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.
“Ok. Seems people took this the wrong way. It was a genuine ask. My brother had chemo. He didn’t age. He died. Apologies if it was insensitive or just plain wrong. Hands up. I’m sorry,” Kaur wrote.
On Monday, Kaur posted a lengthy video defending herself and saying that while she believes she could have conducted herself better, she was surprised by the backlash she received.
“I thought I’d do a quick video instead of tweet after tweet, because it becomes pretty ridiculous — as if it wasn’t ridiculous enough already. I put out a stupid tweet. That wasn’t my intention, my intention was not to be malicious or nasty or anything. I’m not like that, anybody who knows me. It was stupid to ask about the aging. I’ve admitted that, I’ve put my hands up and apologized if it caused offence,” she said to the camera.
She added: “The only people who were offended though, because many people on Twitter and social media have asked exactly what I’ve asked but did not receive the sexual, racial, violent abuse that I did from accounts with EDL flags, Union Jacks, disgusting abuse.”
“She’s near enough a year off work. Of course it must take its toll… Kate does have a lot of privilege there. I’m not excusing my tweet but I’m saying you’re all mad at me, but you’re not mad at the fact her husband (Prince William) and her father-in-law (King Charles III) profit from cancer charities,” Kaur continued.
Middleton made a quiet return to work in September, almost six months after she revealed to the world she had been diagnosed with cancer and was undergoing chemotherapy treatment.
September’s return to royal duties came shortly after she shared a video to social media, announcing she had completed chemotherapy.
The princess remained largely absent from public life in 2024, stepping back from her royal duties and appearances to focus on her health.
She has only undertaken a handful of events in an official capacity this year — in June she appeared at Trooping the Colour, the official celebration for King Charles’ birthday, and in the summer she appeared at Wimbledon alongside her daughter Princess Charlotte and sister Pippa Middleton.
Catherine, Princess of Wales, on court to present the trophy to the winner of the men’s final on day fourteen of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 14, 2024 in London, England.
Getty Images
Sunday’s appearance at the memorial event marked her first back-to-back royal appearances this year. On Saturday, she joined members of the Royal Family for the Festival of Remembrance at Royal Albert Hall.
Since she married into the Royal Family in 2011, Middleton has never missed a single year of the solemn ceremony.
© 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
