Britain’s data watchdog said it was looking into a report that staff at the hospital where Catherine, Princess of Wales, underwent abdominal surgery in January, had attempted to access her private health records.
The report in the Daily Mirror said managers at The London Clinic, where King Charles was also treated in January, were investigating claims that at least one member of staff had been caught trying to access Kate’s medical notes.
A spokesperson for the Information Commissioner’s Office said today: “We can confirm that we have received a breach report and are assessing the information provided.”
Kensington Palace said it was “a matter for The London Clinic”.
The Princess of Wales, 42, had surgery for a non-cancerous but unspecified condition during her stay of around two weeks in the hospital.
She stepped back from official duties and Kensington Palace has said she is not expected to return to royal engagements until after Easter.
Her absence from public life has triggered speculation, rumour and bizarre conspiracy theories about her health.
Kate’s apology earlier this month for editing a photo taken by her husband William, the heir to the throne, to mark Mother’s Day only sparked further intrigue.
On Monday, however, a video published by the Sun newspaper on its website showed her walking and carrying shopping bags alongside William at a farm shop in Windsor near their home.
Kensington Palace has not denied that the video is genuine, but has declined to comment on a matter it regards as being the royals’ private time.
The London Clinic did not immediately respond to a request to comment.
The facility was officially opened by the then-Duke and Duchess of York in 1932.
Past patients include the late Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, the late Queen’s younger sister Princess Margaret and former US president John F Kennedy.
Actress Elizabeth Taylor was also treated at the clinic after falling on a film set in the 1960s.
Since the 1980s, a number of facilities at the site have been officially launched by members of the royal family.
The King, as the then-Prince of Wales, opened the physiotherapy department in 1989, while Princess Margaret launched the MRI unit in 1991 and the late Queen unveiled a new cancer unit in 2010.
The latest inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), carried out in June 2021, rated the London Clinic as “good” overall.
According to the health watchdog, the hospital has about 23,000 inpatients a year, with a further 110,000 outpatients.
It is registered to provide surgery as well as diagnostics and screening, treatment of disease, disorder or injury, management of supply of blood and blood-derived products.
The building at 20 Devonshire Place has seven main operating theatres and three additional theatres, as well as six specialty wards for surgeries in urology, gynaecology, thoracic surgery, orthopaedics and spinal procedures.
Additional reporting PA
