Royal Rumour Mill: Speculations Rise on Kate Middleton’s Whereabouts

A photo of a Kate Middleton look-alike and a Prince William look-alike has been making rounds on social media, fueling rumours that the Princess of Wales has been replaced by a clone or body double. The photo, which was posted by TMZ on their official X (formerly Twitter) page, shows the couple taking a stroll and carrying shopping bags while shopping at the Windsor Farm Shop. According to TMZ, the couple was seen visiting a business about a mile from their home in Windsor, where eyewitnesses saw them out and about this past weekend.

However, many social media users have come out to say that the woman pictured was not the Princess of Wales. Piers Morgan tweeted, “Nobody on here believes it’s them, so the conspiracy theories have increased.” Another X user (formerly Twitter) added, “Not Kate popping up casually at the farmers market like the world hasn’t been writing Gone Girl fan fic about her all year.”

Speculations about Kate Middleton have been as a result of her disappearance from the public eye since January 2024, when the Palace reported that she underwent abdominal surgery and was scheduled to recover and make a return to her official duties at least during Easter. This news came alongside King Charles’ public announcement of his cancer diagnosis.

On Mother’s Day, KensingtonRoyal, the official account of The Prince and Princess of Wales, based at Kensington Palace, tweeted a photo of the Princess of Wales surrounded by her three children. While this picture was meant to ease the British citizens who had expressed concern over Kate’s recovery process, it escalated the rumours on whether she was really okay after major British media houses flagged it, adding that there were a lot of Photoshop edits.

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In a retraction response, KensingtonRoyal tweeted, “Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing. I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused. I hope everyone celebrating had a very happy Mother’s Day.” This retraction statement added fuel to the royal rumour mill with the public expressing concern on why the Princess of Wales was doing her own photo edits and if it was really her tweeting or the royal family employees.

These inconsistencies in communication are causing a dent in the public trust in the royal family as no official statement has been given as to the recovery of the Princess of Wales. However, a royal expert has said that this is a relatively small crisis for the royal family in comparison to the issues the royal family has had to deal with in the past, including abdication, infidelity, and other royal family scandals. All eyes are now fixed on the royal family this Easter as the public anticipates a public appearance from the Princess of Wales.