ROYAL FAMILY CRISIS

THE ONGOING CHALLENGES FACED BY THE MONARCHY CAST A STARK LIGHT ON THE ROYAL FAMILY'S VULNERABILITIES AND THE PRESSING NEED FOR TRANSPARENCY

- SIMON PERRY

During his visit to a synagogue in Central London on Feb. 29 to address the alarming rise in anti-Semitism, Prince William received a touching gesture on behalf of his wife, Princess Kate, who is recuperating from abdominal surgery. Karen Pollock, CEO of the Holocaust Educational Trust, presented William, 41, with a bouquet of flowers and a card expressing well-wishes for Kate's recovery. "I told him we were thinking of her. He seemed touched," Pollock recounts. The event was initially scheduled to coincide with Holocaust Memorial Day on Jan. 27, with the Princess of Wales, 42, slated to accompany William. But because of Kate's operation on Jan. 16, it was postponed. At the synagogue William sat attentively, holding the hands of 94-year-old Holocaust survivor Renee Salt, who shared her experiences. "I know if your wife had been well, she would be here. I miss her so much," she told the prince.

She's not the only one. Kate, who has not stepped out officially since Dec. 25, has become a focal point of intense speculation and online rumors. Her absence, paired with King Charles's retreat from public duties because of his cancer treatment and William's sudden withdrawal from a memorial service for his godfather King Constantine of Greece on Feb. 27, citing a "personal matter," has deepened concerns about the state of the royal family. The string of devastating blows has been intensified by the sudden death of Thomas Kingston, the husband of the King's cousin Lady Gabriella, who died by apparent suicide on Feb. 25 (see sidebar).