Kate Middleton’s hairstyles have attracted plenty of attention for all the right reasons. After all, she has one of the best hairs out there. But in 2011, her hair made headlines for a different reason. During her first solo engagement as a royal that October, the Princess of Wales wore her tresses pulled back in a tight half-up ponytail that exposed her temples. In doing so, she exposed a 3-inch scar on the side of her head near the hairline, which was the result of childhood surgery.
But before that was cleared up, the rumor mill had been working at full steam. The tabloids were quick to speculate that Middleton’s scar was a result of hair extensions, an event that was written in the history books as “Extensiongate.” But not everyone agreed with that theory. “You wouldn’t put an extension that close to the hairline, so it’s doubtful that line is an extension,” hair expert Louise O’Connor told Glamour at the time. “An extension gives bulk, and none of that is there.”
O’Connor was right on the money. Clarence House wasted no time in putting Extensiongate to bed, something social media users have yet to forget. “Still perplexed that Kate Middleton made her team call the press to refute stories about Botox and hair extensions but not the one about ‘Meghan [Markle] making her cry,'” one user wrote on X, referring to a 2019 statement denying baby Botox speculation. While her reps explained the origin of the scar, they didn’t disclose details.
Kate Middleton underwent a ‘very serious operation’ as a child
Kate Middleton had to undergo surgery on her head when she was a child, resulting in a large scar that became known to the public in 2011. “The scar related to a childhood operation,” her rep told the Daily Mail, with another senior source adding that it had been “a very serious operation.” The sources refused to go into detail, arguing Kate’s health history was a private matter. That didn’t prevent experts from speculating, though.
Dr. John Scurr, consultant surgeon at the Lister Hospital in London, dismissed the notion that the Princess of Wales might have had a tumor removed. He went so far as to refute one of the Daily Mail sources’ assertions altogether. “I really doubt it was any serious medical condition and I would say it is as a result of an arteriovenous malformation — a birthmark — being removed,” he said. However, royal expert and biographer Katie Nicholl said it was more serious than that.
For her 2013 book “Kate: The Future Queen,” Nicholl interviewed a former employee at Marlborough College, where the royal attended high school, who explained Kate underwent emergency surgery after discovering a lump on her head. “I can remember the incident and her having an operation,” Ann Patching told Nicholl (via Marie Claire). She was back to school in no time. “You could never accuse Catherine of being a drama queen, but Carole [Middleton] was very worried, as any mother would be,” she added.
Prince William also has a scar on his head
Prince William and Kate Middleton are a perfect match down to their matching scars. The heir to the British throne has a similarly sized mark on the left side of his forehead. Unlike his wife, William has been more open about how he got his facial scar has been known for years. In 1991, William, then just 8, took a hit to the head while playing golf at Ludgrove School. “We were on a putting green and the next thing you know there was a seven-iron and it came out of nowhere and it hit me in the head,” he said on CBBC’s Newsround in 2009 (via Daily Mail).
Golf fell way down on his list of favorite sports after that day. During a June 2024 visit to the Cardiff Metropolitan University, William said he prefers to stay off the golf course. “No, the last time I played golf…” he said, before pointing to the mark he calls his “Harry Potter scar” (via Mirror). It was no minor injury, though. He was rushed to the hospital to undergo surgery for a fractured skull, the Daily Mail reported.
William also remembers the event for other reasons. While Princess Diana was firmly by his side, Prince Charles left to go to the opera. “William was also acutely aware of the lack of his own father’s presence in his life, especially when things went wrong,” royal expert Ingrid Seward told The Sun in 2024.
