Kate's not too thin: The palace hits back at anorexia claims

The palace hits back at eating disorder jibes saying the duchess is ‘thriving’ in her new role.

It’s the home of the size-zero star, a place full of scarily skinny actresses desperately dieting for their next role. Nevertheless, when Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, arrived in Hollywood with her new husband, Prince William, it was her shock weight loss that set the rumour mill ablaze. At the BAFTA gala dinner in Los Angeles, Kate achieved the seemingly impossible – standing next to willowy Nicole Kidman, it was the duchess who looked slimmer. An unkind observer noted that, in comparison to Kate, the Aussie actress appeared “almost in need of a pair of Spanx slimming knickers and a few weeks on the Dukan diet”.

Earlier that day, Kate, 29, had watched her husband lead his team to victory at the Foundation Polo Challenge in Santa Barbara, where she looked even slighter than petite stars Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Love Hewitt. At the luncheon following the match, she ate most of a salad, half a serving of lasagne and only a mouthful of the trifle dessert, politely declining the extra biscuits and petit fours offered.

While it would be only natural if nerves had affected Kate’s appetite, the American media is convinced she is suffering from an eating disorder, publishing hurtful claims that the duchess has anorexia – a devastating illness similar to that suffered by William’s late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, who acknowledged publicly that she had binged and purged to stay slim.

The suggestion that Kate may have the same eating disorder has sparked royal outrage. However, that hasn’t stopped the American press weighing in. Under the headline “Pregnancy and Anorexia Shocker”, last week’s issue of Star magazine claims Kate’s diet of watercress soup has seen her weight drop to 43kg. The story describes her as “gaunt and bony” with an “unbelievably frail frame”.