"Not Kate"

Big doubts about video of Princess Catherine

A new video of Princess Kate is causing a stir. A supposedly random customer of a farm store filmed it at the weekend and apparently sold it to the US site "TMZ" and the British "Sun".

(Bild: APA/AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

On X (formerly Twitter) alone, a video purporting to show Princess Kate and Prince William leaving their favorite store, the Windsor Farm Shop near their Adelaide cottage, at the weekend was viewed over 18 million times in just a few hours and shared tens of times. But many doubt the authenticity of the video.

After all, there are plenty of royal doubles in the UK who can be booked for supermarket openings. "That's not Kate" or something similar is what thousands of users suspect in the comments.

Cloned, doubled, staged
It's hard to believe, but even this sign of life from the Princess of Wales, who is convalescing after a difficult abdominal operation, has further fueled the rumor mills. She has been cloned, replaced by a doppelganger or an alien. Why is the couple not given a second glance by the other customers? No one other than a guy in a car is filming them? This is staged (staged) and fake or "AI - Kate Intelligence", as one of our readers suspects. And these are just some of the theories circulating.

Credibility problem
The royal family and paparazzi photo agencies now have a massive credibility problem due to Kate's disappearance from the public eye and the strong interest in her.

As long as Kate's illness is not dealt with openly, every photo and every video, however nice and sweet it may be, that does not come from official press photographers or is broadcast live on television, is likely to be similarly torn apart and conspiracy theorized until further notice.

After all, the princess herself tampered with her Mother's Day photo and photo agencies had to withdraw the picture because it had been manipulated and authenticity could not be guaranteed.

Skinnier than usual
Nevertheless, the video of Princess Kate is probably genuine. Admittedly, she looks different. The always very slim, tall royal is even skinnier than usual. With matchstick legs in tight black leggings and a very narrow face. But how could it be otherwise?

In mid-January, she underwent an abdominal operation that confined her to bed for weeks. After the operation, Kensington Palace made it clear that the 42-year-old would be able to return to her royal duties at Easter at the earliest. The royal couple's doctors must have strongly advised her not to return to duties too soon.

Princess Kate underwent surgery on January 16 and was discharged into home care two weeks later. She is expected to return to her public duties after Easter.

(Bild: APA/AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Only small steps
Of course, she has been "working" in small ways, if you will, and for example embellished the Mother's Day photo that Prince William took of her and children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis before it was published.

It has also been reported that she has recently returned to dropping off and picking up the children at school with her mother Carole Middleton or Prince William. Small steps back to normality.

In the statement following her operation, it was said that they wanted to maintain as much normality as possible for the children. The public comes second, even when it comes to the Crown Prince's family. 

Prince William and Duchess Kate with their children Prince George and Princess Charlotte

(Bild: APA/AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

Random customer is said to have filmed
According to TMZ, the video was not taken by a paparazzo, but by a man called Nelson Silva, who happened to be in the farmhouse at the weekend and initially had no idea who he had seen shopping for bread.

He said: "I noticed this couple picking out bread. The woman then turned her face towards me and I felt as if I had seen that face before. It was familiar to me. I knew it from somewhere."

He adds, "I went to my car and when they came out of the store, I just filmed them. I think they went out through a gate into the grounds. They just disappeared and I didn't see a car. I just wanted to share the footage with my family and show how normal they were."

Kate seemed "relieved"
In any case, Kate looked fit in his eyes and as if she was relieved.

"Kate looked happy and relaxed. They looked happy because they could just go into a store and mingle with people. Kate looked relieved, like going into a store was a success. It felt natural."