Hey America, it’s time we mind our business and leave the British royal family alone

Catherine, the Princess of Wales, shared heart-stopping news Friday afternoon: that she’d been diagnosed with cancer and was undergoing chemotherapy two months after “major” abdominal surgery. After weeks of speculation and rumors about why Princess Catherine hadn’t been seen in public, her announcement should be all the proof we need that it’s time to leave the royals alone.

America, we need to mind our business. Have some compassion and let it go. Princess Kate is not our future queen. We have our own problems to deal with, including the real possibility of an insurrection-supporting former president returning to office.

We don’t have a dog in this fight.

When I heard the news Friday afternoon, I was sad for the 42-year-old mother of three.

“In January, I underwent major abdominal surgery in London and at the time it was thought my condition was non-cancerous. The surgery was successful; however, tests after the operation found cancer had been present,” said a seemingly thin Kate in a blue and white striped sweater, her long hair landing past her shoulders. “My medical team therefore advised that I should undergo preventative chemotherapy and I’m in the early stages of that treatment.”

I watched the announcement, thinking about the fragility of human life. This could happen to any of us. Not only does the Princess of Wales need to find comfort in the belief that she will recover, she must help her three young children deal with the very fear of losing their mother. There aren’t enough luncheons or perfect pairs of nude shoes that can make that job less daunting.

Yet, even as the news was aired, I saw folks on social media and private messages placing the blame on the royal family, referring to the picture of the princess and her three children that went viral earlier this month after close examinations revealed a slew of continuity errors, prompting several newswire services to retract their publication of the photo. The conspiracy theories — some tongue-in-cheek, but some more serious — swirled and America was deep in the mix.

It was clear the royal family wasn’t processing this well. Who would, especially when the internet demands perfection at all times.

I suspect that the doctored photo was created to keep the princess’ image intact. Anyone with a Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter account feels the need to update constantly, especially after an illness or a setback. After a few days of downtime, some kind of “watch out world we are coming back” post is required. Shoot, even when we’re not sick, many of us are always teasing to some life update. Stay tuned! Read my post!

In hindsight, I suspect the princess, who is somewhat obsessive about her image, wishes she hadn’t posted the doctored picture, but knowing what we know now, I understand how she was eager to let the world — and herself — know that she is fine, especially because she knew how ill she was.

Look, the royal family is not perfect — look at the way they ran Meghan Markle out of the palace for simply being a Black woman. And it’s easy to blame the people who make the public snafu, but we have to admit that many times we are driving their reaction. All of us — royal or otherwise — have the technology to let everyone know what’s going on with us in real time, but perhaps we should think twice before volunteering information about ourselves that’s not fully cooked. And, more importantly, stop demanding information from others that’s really none of our business.

Take this cue.

London may not leave them alone, and rightly so. It’s their monarchy.

But America should.