China, Russia and Iran actively spread online disinformation about the Princess of Wales in an attempt to destabilise Britain, according to senior government sources.
The "hostile" countries were reportedly behind delusional conspiracy theories and slurs that went viral on social media after Kate, 42, kept a low profile following successful abdominal surgery in January.
Kate revealed her cancer diagnosis on Friday following the relentless spread of online conspiracy theories. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Labour Party leader Keir Starmer were among those to hit out at online trolls who had targeted her over the past few weeks.
Government officials are concerned speculation about Kate was amplified by trolls who were used by the three countries to sow attacks against the royal family.
Kate Middleton and Prince William previously welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife, Madame Peng Liyuan in London"Part of the modus operandi of hostile states is to destabilise things - whether that is undermining the legitimacy of our elections or of other institutions," a government source told The Telegraph.
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The claims come as Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden is expected to say today that Beijing was behind a hack on the Electoral Commission last year where personal information about an estimated 40 million voters was accessed.
The Defending Democracy Taskforce, chaired by Minister of State for Security Tom Tugendhat, was set up last year to protect the UK from foreign interference, including the spread of online disinformation. "Countering this is right at the heart of the work of the taskforce," a government source told the outlet.
Kate Middleton with Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan (PA)In February the UK government released a joint statement with its US and Canadian counterparts about coordinated efforts to counter foreign state disinformation. "Foreign information manipulation is a national security threat that undermines democratic values, human rights, governmental processes, and political stability. Given the borderless nature of information manipulation, we call on all like-minded countries committed to the rules-based order to work together to identify and counter this threat," the statement said.
"Securing the integrity of the global information ecosystem is central to popular confidence in governance institutions and processes, trust in elected leaders, and the preservation of democracy. The present international system, based on international law and respect for territorial boundaries, is competing with an alternate vision defined by autocratic impunity. This alternate vision deploys foreign malign influence aimed at undermining our safety and security, with disregard for universal human rights and the rule of law."
Kate Middleton and Prince William, Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife, Madame Peng Liyuan talk with Jackie Chan (Getty)Following intense online speculation, Kate revealed in a pre-recorded video that she is undergoing preventative chemotherapy and that she is "now in the early stages of that treatment." The particular cancer Kate has has not been made public.
She said "it was the right time" to share her diagnosis with the public as she had told her children Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, eight, and Prince Louis, five, about her cancer. Kate is now focused on her recovery and the family will skip the annual royal church service in Windsor on Easter Sunday.
"The Princess is in good spirits and focused on her recovery. She is hugely grateful to the medical team for the care they are providing to her. She now needs time, space and privacy to complete her treatment and make a full recovery," a Kensington Palace spokesperson previously said.
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