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U.K. authorities probe possible Princess Kate medical record breach as royals slog through photo scandal
London — A video clip of Catherine, the Princess of Wales, shopping with her husband Prince William, emerged this week but has failed to quash speculation about Kate’s health. Interest is so high, it would seem, that it may have led a London clinic worker to break the law in an effort to obtain Kate’s personal medical information.
A British newspaper reported Wednesday that at least one person had tried to access Kate’s medical records at the private, upmarket London Clinic, where she underwent unspecified abdominal surgery in January.
A government watchdog agency, the Information Commissioner’s Office, confirmed that it had “received a breach report” and was in the process of “assessing the information provided.”
In a statement sent to CBS News, the London Clinic’s CEO Al Russell said all of the facility’s staff were “acutely aware of our individual, professional, ethical and legal duties with regards to patient confidentiality. We take enormous pride in the outstanding care and discretion we aim to deliver for all our patients that put their trust in us every day.”
Russell said the London Clinic had “systems in place to monitor management of patient information and, in the case of any breach, all appropriate investigatory, regulatory and disciplinary steps will be taken,” adding: “There is no place at our hospital for those who intentionally breach the trust of any of our patients or colleagues.”
British health minister Maria Caulfield told the Sky News television network that London police had “been asked to look at” whether any clinic staff members had, in fact, attempted to access Kate’s private medical records.
Caulfield said in a separate interview with the LBC radio network that the information commissioner’s office could also lead prosecutions, and added that there were “particularly hefty implications if you are looking at notes for medical records that you should not be looking at.”
Kensington Palace said from the beginning that it would not be providing updates on Kate’s recovery from her surgery, offering only that she’s expected to return to her royal duties after Easter.
But after the palace said it would provide no updates, interest soared when the princess was shown in a British Mother’s Day image with her three children. Several leading global photo agencies recalled the picture after noticing some inconsistencies.
That prompted the palace to release an apology, credited to Kate, who said that “like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing.”
The acknowledgement led to scrutiny of other images presented to the public by Kate and William and, this week, a second one, initially shared by the royals in 2023, fell under suspicion. The image depicting a warm family moment with the late Queen Elizabeth II, surrounded by her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, was said to have been snapped at the royals’ Balmoral Castle retreat in Scotland, in August 2022.
But CBS News and many other outlets found discrepancies in that image, too, including misalignments on patterns in the late queen’s tartan skirt and the sofa they were all sat on, and some black or blurry patches around some of the children’s heads.
Getty Images added a note on the photo in its server, labelling it as “digitally enhance at source.”
The Princess of Wales’ father-in-law King Charles III is still largely out of the public eye as he undergoes cancer treatment, but the rest of the senior royals have tried to maintain business as usual. That includes Prince William, who visited a homeless project in the north of England on Tuesday.
On London’s streets, meanwhile, most people who spoke to CBS News seemed to sympathize with Kate and her family’s appeal for privacy.
“I think they need to leave her alone – I think her health is her own business,” said Londoner Paul Hunt.
“I think she gets a lot of stick, and everyone should just leave her alone. If she’s been poorly, then she’s been poorly,” said Sally Cannon as she made her way to work.
“We need to respect that she’s a human being as well as part of the monarchy,” said another resident, Michelle Hanafi.
The world’s oldest mummies have been around longer than the mummified pharaohs of Egypt and their ornate tombs — but the ravages of time, human development and climate change are putting these relics at risk.
Chile’s Atacama Desert was once home to the Chincorro people, an ancient population that began mummifying their dead 5,000 years ago, two millennia before the Egyptians did, according to Bernando Arriaza, a professor at the University of Tarapaca.
The arid desert has preserved mummified remains and other clues in the environment that give archaeologists information about how the Chincorro people once lived.
The idea to mummify bodies likely came from watching other remains naturally undergo the process amid the desert’s dry conditions. The mummified bodies were also decorated with reed blankets, clay masks, human hair and more, according to archaeologists.
While UNESCO has designated the region as a World Heritage Site, the declaration may not save all of the relics. Multiple museums, including the Miguel de Azapa Archaeological Museum in the ancient city of Arica, put the Chincorro culture on display. Some mummies and other relics are safely ensconced in those climate-controlled exhibits, but the remains still hidden in the arid desert remain at risk.
“If we have an increase in sea surface temperatures, for example, across the coast of northern Chile, that would increase atmospheric humidity,” said Claudio LaTorre, a paleo-ecologist with the Catholic University of Chile. “And that in turn would generate decomposition, (in) places where you don’t have decomposition today, and you would lose the mummies themselves.”
Other clues that archaeologists can find in the environment may also be lost.
“Human-induced climate change is one aspect that we’re really worried about, because it’ll change a number of different aspects that are forming the desert today,” said LaTorre.
Arriaza is working to raise awareness about the mummies, hoping that that will lead to even more preservation.
“It’s a big, big challenge because you need to have resources,” Arriaza said. “It’s everybody’s effort to a common goal, to preserve the site, to preserve the mummies.”
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NEW YORK – The man accused of killing three people when drove drunk into a crowd on the Lower East Side on July 4th was arraigned on a host of charges Saturday.
Daniel Hyden of Monmouth Junction, N.J. is charged with aggravated vehicular homicide, aggravated vehicular assault, manslaughter, assault and operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated charges. Hyden was driving with a suspended license, prosecutors said.
According to prosecutors, Hyden, 44, drove a Ford F-150 pickup truck into the crowd at Corlears Hook Park just before 9 p.m. local time. He allegedly ran through a stop sign at the intersection of Water and Cherry Streets, drove up onto the sidewalk, slammed through the chain link fence, and into the crowd.
Eleven people were killed or injured, prosecutors said. The three people killed have been identified as Lucille Pinkney, 59, and her son Herman Pinkney, 38, and Ana Morel, 43. Another person was critically injured, and seven others hospitalized. The youngest victim was 11, according to prosecutors.
Responding police officers say they found Hyden on the ground next to the driver’s-side door, wearing pants but no shirt or shoes. He had bloodshot eyes, was stumbling and there was “a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage on his breath.”
“I hope we get justice”
Photos provided
On Friday, Family members of the victims returned to the scene, some breaking down in tears.
“I hope we get justice for my brother and my mother,” Diamond Pinkney said. “Herman, I love you. I’m going to do you proud.”
“We’re all devastated with this. It breaks my heart, and I’m so sad about it,” neighbor Nereida Garcia said.