BBC’s Sonja McLaughlan says woman photographed with Prince William was ‘lookalike’
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A BBC sports reporter appeared to promote conspiracy theories about the Princess of Wales by suggesting it was a “lookalike” who was photographed over the weekend.
The Princess, whose absence from public life while she has been recovering from surgery has sparked a flurry of bizarre conspiracy theories, was pictured visiting the Windsor Farm Shop on Saturday.
Video and photographs emerged on Monday night capturing the 42-year-old alongside the Prince of Wales on a shopping trip close to her Adelaide Cottage home.
It follows weeks of speculation with a series of conspiracy theories about the Princess’ health spreading across social media, among them that the woman identified as the Princess is an actress or lookalike.
Sonja McLaughlan, the BBC’s rugby specialist, echoed this theory online, suggesting the individual seen shopping alongside Prince William was not his wife, but a double.
She also suggested Prince William could have been replaced by an actor.
Commenting on a video which compares the individual in the latest footage against past pictures of the Princess, McLaughlan wrote: “It’s so obviously not Kate.
“Some newspapers are reporting it as fact. But it’s not her. No conspiracy theorist but all very odd.”
She added to her post on X, formerly Twitter:
Christopher Bouzy, an American entrepreneur who founded a Twitter analytics service that tracks disinformation, inauthentic behaviour and targeted harassment stoked the conspiracy theory fires by questioning the Princess’s appearance.
In a series of posts on X, Mr Bouzy said that the Princess looked “markedly different” from the leaked paparazzi picture published by American sites earlier this month, claiming she looked “younger, slimmer, taller and faster”.
He added: “We were told Kate was recovering and would resume her royal duties shortly.
“Yet, in the recent video, she is holding a bag and moving briskly. If she’s capable of such activity, why isn’t she back to fulfilling her royal duties yet?”
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Others denounced those spreading conspiracy theories and offered support for the Princess and her family. Kevin Pietersen, the 43-year-old ex-England cricket captain, dismissed the theories while claiming that he sees the royal couple “most days” and urging people to “leave her and her beautiful family alone”.
Trust in the Royal family has remained unchanged despite the swirling conspiracy theories online. YouGov polling found two-thirds of respondents’ opinions of the Princess had not changed since she admitted to photoshopping a Mother’s Day photograph.
The photograph of the Princess with her children, released by Kensington Palace, was recalled last week by five of the world’s biggest picture agencies over fears it had been “manipulated”.
The image, taken by the Prince in Windsor earlier this week, showed the Princess looking happy and healthy after her surgery. It was the first authorised picture of her since Christmas.
The photograph had been intended, in part, to reassure the public about her health, after she had spent weeks at home recovering from a major abdominal operation.
But it was recalled by the photo agencies Getty, Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, Shutterstock and Reuters, which put out a “kill notice” to halt their distribution of the picture.
“At closer inspection, it appears that the source has manipulated the image,” the AP notice said.
On Monday, Getty Images said a second photograph which featured Queen Elizabeth II surrounded by her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, taken by the Princess, was “digitally enhanced at source”.
The photo, taken at Balmoral in August 2022, was reviewed by Getty Images after the Princess admitted that she had edited the Mother’s Day picture of herself and her three children.
Buckingham Palace released it on April 21 last year to mark what would have been the late Queen’s 97th birthday.
Close inspection of the picture appears to show several inconsistencies, including a vertical line where the tartan of the late Queen’s skirt does not match.
Lucy Frazer, the Culture Secretary said the Princess of Wales deserved “privacy” amid the increased speculation.
Speaking to LBC on Tuesday, Ms Frazer said: “She is a remarkable lady and I think we should give her a bit of privacy...at the moment she is recovering from an operation and I think we should respect her privacy.”
The BBC has been contacted for comment.
