Amidst an orgy of rumors, conspiracy theories and misinformation, Princess Kate delivered the message that was expected, pretty much as expected.
As Queen Elizabeth had done to reassure the public about her health, appearing to wave from inside a car, 42-year-old Kate Middleton appeared in a video published by the TMZ network and the Sun newspaper, smiling after shopping.
In good spirits, alongside her husband and heir to the British throne, Prince William, Kate is seen walking, carrying bags of shopping, outside a farm shop in Windsor, near their home.
According to royal editors, even what she was wearing was a “message”, as the princess appeared in a black England national rugby team hoodie.
Kate Middleton had been appointed by Queen Elizabeth to captain the team, replacing Prince Harry in that role, while her husband has the title of captain of the Welsh national rugby team.
However, and while the Palace did not deny that they are the couple featured in the video, but stressed that these are private moments which they do not comment on, even this appearance by Kate has not been able to stop the endless cycle of misinformation that has been opened up due to her absence from royal duties after she underwent an abdominal operation for a non-cancerous but undetermined cause in January.
This time, BBC editor covering England’s national rugby team, Sonia McLaughlan, claims that “the lady photographed with Prince William shopping is clearly not Kate” and that it is her… doppelganger.
Reservations about whether Kate is indeed the woman featured in the clip were even expressed by a TMZ producer, Charles Latibodier.
“I’ve changed my mind three times. I’ve watched the video multiple times and my initial instinct said it was her. But then I started seeing comments and things posted by people who don’t believe it, and they have some arguments about her height compared to William, the height of her eye line when she looks at him normally, some things about her chin. There are a lot of details that people noticed, even in the way this woman walks,” the producer says.
“Now I’m not [sure]. Before I was at 95 percent. When I first saw it I thought, ‘that’s her.’
And the man definitely looks like William, but even for him some people say it could be someone else.
There’s an ongoing mystery about this case and the bigger question is, if it’s true that it’s not her, where is Kate and what’s going on with her.”
Another key question, according to the TMZ producer, is the palace’s motive for leaking such a video. “Why would the palace get involved, if indeed they did, in another hoax to convince us that Kate is fine.
Since it was preceded by the Mother’s Day photo, such a big gaffe, why would they do it again? That was one of the reasons they made me think it was her in the first place,” Charles adds.
And while in Russia the media was carrying a non-existent news story about… King Charles’ death, in the United States a “war” has broken out among Hollywood stars in the shadow of the “doctored” photo Kate Middleton published.
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Blake Lively and Kim Kardashian “uploaded” their extremely altered photos, mocking Kate Middleton and Hugh Jackman following… British comedian John Oliver said it’s possible the princess has… died 18 months ago, while on the other hand, Whoopi Goldberg lashed out during her show against those who “fall for silly scenarios about a recovering woman”.
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