Kate Middleton is still seriously ill, and recent reports of her recovery appear to have been greatly exaggerated, according to a report Saturday in the British press . The 32-year-old Duchess of Cambridge, along with her son, the presumed future king of England Prince George, have moved in with Kate’s mother Carole who has been researching folk remedies on the internet.
An earlier report said that Middleton was feeling well enough to greet the president of Singapore at an official visit on October 21, an event which has indeed been placed on the royal schedule. But a source close to Kate cast doubt on her ability to follow through on that commitment.
“Her attendance will be reviewed closer to the time, depending on her health,” the source told The Daily Mail newspaper. “Don’t be fooled by the fact that she hasn’t been admitted to hospital this time. She is just as poorly. The difference is that her doctors have been able to diagnose and treat her quicker. She really hasn’t been at all well, though.”
According to the report, Kate Middleton is still so severely stricken with chronic nausea due to her pregnancy, that she cold be vomiting up to 30 times each day — and her condition may be putting her unborn child at risk.
Her condition, hypermesis gravidarum , is often referred to as a form of “morning sickness,” but in fact, the disease is an entirely separate and far more serious condition that can cause a build-up of toxins in the bloodstream and lead too severe weight loss, endangering the health of the baby. Premature and underweight births often result from hypermesis gravidarum , with miscarriages a risk as well.
While Kate Middleton had been residing at Kensington Palace as she battled the illness, she has now moved to her family’s home — an £5 million ($8 million) mansion that could be described as palatial itself.
There, her mother Carole Middleton has been combing the internet for alternative and herbal treatments for the condition, while doctors continue to attend to Kate with an intravenous drip — which is essential to keep hypermesis gravidarum patients such as the Duchess from becoming excessively dehydrated.
As if her illness wasn’t nasty enough, People Magazine reports that royal watchers are now debating whether Kate Middleton has yet earned the title “Princess.”
“Yes, she is a princess,” says Joe Little, a journalist who covers the royal beat. “I would say that if you marry a prince, you are a princess.”
But People says that in fact, Kate Middleton is not only not officially a “princess,” she is not even officially known as “Kate,” instead referred to only as “Catherine” in all official royal documents.