'Princess Kate's brutal privacy invasion shows wild extremes of being in Royal Family'

'Princess Kate's brutal privacy invasion shows wild extremes of being in Royal Family' With the Princess of Wales making her return to Royal Ascot for the first time since 2023, the Mirror's royal editor Russell Myers has revealed how a heartbreaking chapter for Princess Kate is finally over This week has been a tale of two halves - and fear not, I am not talking about the World Cup! I was lucky enough to be at Royal Ascot on Wednesday to witness the Princess of Wales’ triumphant return to the festival of racing. Not only was the glorious British summertime on full display, the princess looked utterly radiant in a bright yellow Roksanda dress. If it looked familiar, Catherine debuted the piece during the tour of Jamaica in March 2022 and then wore it again for that summer’s Wimbledon tournament. Third time’s a charm indeed and considering I managed to rewear (fit into!) the same waist-coat I’ve had for a decade, it’s nice to at least pretend we are not so different after all. The princess’ attendance at Royal Ascot marked her first to the festival in three years. In that time she has bravely battled cancer, spoken candidly about her journey and relaunched herself onto the royal scene, with a renewed sense of purpose over how she wants to live her life alongside her public duties. In that time, she was also subjected to a disgraceful invasion of her privacy. I first exclusively revealed in March 2024, just days before Catherine bravely revealed her cancer diagnosis to the world, how a trusted member of staff at The London Clinic, where the princess underwent abdominal surgery in January of that year, abandoned their duty of care to access her private medical records. The story sent shockwaves around the royal palaces, the hospital and was followed for days around the world. This week I revealed that after two years of investigation into the criminal matter, the individual has been sacked from their position at the clinic that has treated members of the royal family for decades and struck off the medical register. Get more agenda-setting content like this straight to your inbox by signing up to our Royal Insider newsletter, exclusively available to Mirror+ subscribers. Click here to subscribe to Mirror+ now As a Mirror + subscriber, you’ll have: - Unlimited access to the Mirror's app - Cleaner, faster reading online with fewer adverts - Access to exclusive newsletters only for subscribers - These will include unique insight from our writers alongside thought-provoking opinion - Exclusive in-depth features and unmissable columnists for Mirror+ members Click here to subscribe to Mirror+ now The Information Commissioner’s Office, which managed the criminal probe owing to the offence being a data breach, later confirmed The Mirror’s scoop saying the offender had engaged in “a deliberate misuse of highly sensitive personal information” which was “a clear breach of trust”. The fact the former medical professional did this for financial gain, offering Catherine’s medical records in exchange for money, adds not only to the distress to the princess but also the weight of the offence. For its part, The London Clinic, which was found not to have committed any regulatory breaches, said it was “pleased” to have “brought this sad and isolated incident to a conclusion”. There is perhaps no greater example of the extremes of being a member of the royal family. On any given day or occasion you can be faced with having to put your best foot forward, or your best smile on, while having to deal with the enormity of emotion. The Princess of Wales has been here before when topless photographs were published in a French magazine while on holiday with Prince William. A gross invasion of privacy that they jointly took to the courts and donated substantial damages to charity. The interest in the lives of our royal family has of course always been there. While the media landscape has changed considerably from the days of Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s relationship breakdown, which was played out daily across the world’s media, we now have the 24hour global cycle of social media to contend with. This reached fever pitch when vile trolls spent their days composing cruel messages and untrue statements on the princess’ health when she was admitted to hospital without notice for her abdominal surgery. Click here to subscribe to Mirror+ now Just under two weeks later when she left hospital without being seen, a cascade of lies filled the void, with everything from having cosmetic surgery that was botched, to even passing away. In more than two decades as a journalist I have never known hysteria like it. Yet it is so much more than faceless accounts spreading wild rumours. For my bestselling book, William and Catherine: The Intimate Inside Story, I spoke to William and Catherine’s inside circle, who told me the truth of how utterly distressing these rumours had been to a young mother, and family, who at the time was not only recovering from incredibly serious surgery but also dealing with the enormity of a cancer diagnosis at the age of 42. This type of behaviour and appalling thirst for information on the medical health of a woman who was dealing with this in private, as was her right and should be expected, no doubt contributed to the greed of the hospital worker willing to neglect their duty to hawk her private medical records for cash. We live in a world where so many demands are on all of us, but the attention we place on public figures can no doubt at times be overwhelming. The royal family appreciates the deal, they know the territory, but surely it is not too much to expect that certain lines are not crossed. Just as when Catherine bravely made a video statement sharing her plight, I hope each person behind those hurtful messages took a long hard look at the behaviour and those dark days will not be repeated.