The Waleses think there’s nothing they can do to combat conspiracist ‘headbangers’

Our Gossip with Celebitchy podcast comes out on Saturday, and in this week’s pod, we spent some time talking about how ridiculous it is that no one at Kensington Palace has even considered putting the Princess of Wales in front of a camera and making a simple statement without any editing or manipulation, and just have her say “thank you so much for the support, I’ve really appreciated it, I’ll be back soon!” They should have done that weeks ago, but what’s stopping them from doing it at this point? It could not get any worse. Instead, Prince William, Kate and their courtiers are just digging in their heels and pretending everyone else is crazy for simply wondering if Kate is okay and why the palace is creating all of this weirdness around her. Speaking of, the Daily Beast’s Tom Sykes got another exclusive, straight from “friends and royal sources” close to William and Kate:

The royal family believe they have regained a measure of control of the narrative around Princess Kate Middleton, friends and royal sources told The Daily Beast Wednesday, whilst accepting that wild theories on social media are simply something the royal family will have to learn to live with.

One source said Kate’s decision to pay a visit to a local farm shop at the weekend had been “the right move, because ultimately she is fine and she needed that to be seen” despite voluble claims by conspiracy theorists on social media claiming Kate was being impersonated by a body double during the trip.

“There’s nothing you can do these days about a bunch of headbangers who have a vested interest in keeping the conspiracies going,” said the friend. “They will keep saying Catherine is a fake. But going out was the right move because ultimately she is fine and she needed that to be seen.”

Another royal source told The Daily Beast: “William and Kate are nearly on the other side of this. You can argue that they should have approached the whole thing differently, but this is a marathon not a sprint. They have decades and decades of this life ahead of them, and the message is that they intend to guard their privacy, whatever the media say they should or shouldn’t do. When you look back at 2024 in a few years, you won’t even be able to see this, apart, maybe, from the Mother’s Day photo, which was, admittedly, a significant cock-up.”

The Sun, which published the farm shop video, ran a huge piece Wednesday with the person who shot the clip, which concluded by telling conspiracy theorists to get a hobby, and have devoted more energy today to reassuring their readers the clip is genuine. While Kate and William’s office have declined to formally authenticate the clip, the Sun has now made it clear their team effectively signed off on it. In a highly significant statement disguised as a throwaway remark, the paper said, “The Sun spoke to Kensington Palace to explain what we would be publishing before we ran the footage and photos.”

TMZ, which first posted the farm shop video and then a video by one of their hosts talking up the body double story, posted an interview Wednesday with a Kate body double denying it was her in the clip. It was somewhat tongue in cheek but still points the direction the wind is blowing. The palace will no doubt be hoping that conspiracy theories are returning to their silos.

[From The Daily Beast]

“…With a Kate body double denying it was her in the clip…” Is there only one thin, brunette white woman around 5’8” in England? They keep quoting that one “Kate impersonator” who swears up and down that it’s not her in the video and everyone is like “see, that means it was Kate!” In a 20-mile radius of Windsor Castle, there are probably dozens of women who could pass for Kate in a blurry video. And no, that doesn’t make us “headbangers”…?? Good lord. That being said, I get that the Sun is indicating that Kensington Palace signed off on the video and that KP wants people to believe that Huevo and Buttons are the couple in the video. That’s what’s bothering us!

Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Instar. Covers courtesy of the Daily Mail and The Sun.

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99 Responses to “The Waleses think there’s nothing they can do to combat conspiracist ‘headbangers’”

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  1. Tessa says:

    The woman in the video looks younger than Kate and her face looks different.

    • Mrs.Krabapple says:

      If they would just admit that Kate got a major face-lift and they lied about abdominal surgery, it would stop the conspiracies. The conspiracies exist because what the palace says doesn’t match up with what the public sees.

      • Kateee says:

        I was just thinking how much losing a lot of weight in your 40s does NOT give you pronounced high apples (where none existed) and a tight jawline. Especially, as we can see from unedited Kate on the street pictures, when your skin is already quite prone to drooping. (And I don’t say that to be unkind, it’s just undeniable and a regular part of aging skin). I mean… just look at unedited Kate from St Patricks day, or the header photo on one of the other articles.
        The stress of rapid weight loss and major surgery, especially to digestive system, also don’t tend to make your hair healthier and thicker… just saying.

        So yes, either significant facelift and fillers or just not her, so KP could say how ridiculous everyone is being and go back into hiding!

      • KindnessPlease says:

        She is having cancer treatments.
        How you all can be so cruel?

    • sparrow says:

      I think she’s had a face lift, with possible complications. The woman in the video however isn’t her, imo. No one is looking at her, which is funny, because: 1) this isn’t an unknown destination for them, and people would be primed to see her and 2) this indifference proves Kate as lauded global beauty star is a farce- even someone who looks like Kate should warrant a stare. I also believe it’s a face lift due to the lack of thanks for the public’s best wishes – even they knew it would be below par to express gratitude for a secret load of cosmetic surgery.

    • Josephine says:

      and if it were, get back to work and release a real photo and a thank you for the support of the people.

      either way they suck

    • The Robinsons says:

      That’s not even William in that video… he looks younger and like he might have more hair under that hat.

    • All they have to do is tell the truth about what is really happening and stop the faking. That’s all they would have to do.

      • Cairidh says:

        In the car photo with Carole it looked like kate/whoever it was, was wearing a wig but her face was much fatter than usual. In the video at the shop it looks like the woman is wearing a wig but she’s thinner than Kate usually is. So with two images of her wearing a wig – entire wigs as opposed to hair pieces/add ins that she usually wears – the thought crossed my mind, maybe she has cancer and she’s having chemo and has lost her hair and that’s why she doesn’t want anyone to see her. Then I dismissed the idea because shes only early 40s. I know young people get cancer. My aunty died at 38. But Kate’s always been very fit and sporty so I just didn’t expect her to be one of them. Then it was announced she does have cancer so…. I’m still unsure if the two wig images are her but unlike a lot of people I do think they look like her. Whereas the frankenphoto, it was clearly not her legs. It was her head stuck on someone else body, someone with much shorter legs.

    • Cee says:

      If that’s not Kate then perhaps it’s his mistress? We all know Huevo has a type

  2. Krista says:

    Aw, they don’t like being the centre of a bunch of hurtful conspiracies? Welcome to Harry and Meghan’s lives for the past few years. At least the ones about H & M were complete BS. KP did this to themselves, they don’t get to act like the victims. No sympathy at all for this circus of clowns.

  3. Shawna says:

    Had to look that one up: a headbanger is “a psychotic, a randomly, obsessively violent person, someone who cannot control their temper.” Projection again!

  4. equality says:

    “They have many years ahead of them in this life.” Yes, and you will want to keep your supporters to have those many years. A simple video thanking the ones who have defended and supported you on their SM site would be all it would take. It is insulting to her followers to supposedly appear in public looking well and to not do some sort of personal thanks to well-wishers. KC managed that in the midst of his medical problems. Either she is unable/unwilling to do so because of her appearance (and the video is not her) or she is enjoying this whole fiasco. Either way it shows incredible arrogance and disregard for the public who pay her bills.

  5. Brassy Rebel says:

    I am not a headbanger! Just because I have eyes and can see, upon closer inspection and de-blurring, that is not Kate, doesn’t make me a conspiracy theorist. It makes me a sentient human with eyes and a brain which can draw certain conclusions based on evidence. And I also notice that KP is still trying to maintain plausible deniability about this photo by refusing to confirm that it is W&K in the video. Sheesh! 🤷

    • KC says:

      I admit it. There are often theories put forward here that I’m like, uh, that’s ridiculous. When this video first came out I 100% rolled my eyes at the talk of it being a non-Kate body double. Then I actually looked at the non-blurred image and was immediately like, nope. That woman absolutely is not Kate Middleton. So now I would like to apologize for my previous doubting ways.

    • Josephine says:

      and let’s face it, they are stoking those conspiracies to stay relevent and have something to complain about.

      • SURE says:

        @Josephine And also to deflect from the fact that they tried to dupe the public with that doctored mother’s day photo.

      • bisynaptic says:

        They’re doing it to distract from the fact that the BBC just bought Suits. 😂

  6. SarahLee says:

    I will never NOT believe that this is a time of significant negotiation between the Waleses. Kate hasn’t done a video because she doesn’t want to do a video. Something happened that changed the narrative. Whether it was Rose or physical abuse or a combination, something happened, and it isn’t just a stomach problem. For Kate, all this attention should be good for her because she sees the power she has. People care about her (rightly or wrongly) and were and are worried. People got pissed at William. That shifts the power dynamic. Its fascinating to watch.

  7. Sunday says:

    This has now dragged on for so long that there are only 2 possibilities: they can’t shut it down, or they won’t. They can’t because Kate won’t participate or isn’t well, or they won’t because they’re doing this intentionally. At this point I think we need to heavily consider the intentions because as Kaiser said they could end the speculation here in 30 seconds flat. Frankly, by now even if Kate didn’t want to participate they would’ve given her no choice.

    • ML says:

      Yes to all of this, Sunday! 👍

    • Royal Downfall Watched says:

      Exactly!! They COULD shut it down. Have Kate propped up on her bed, issue a lovely thank you to her lovely subjects and doctors and nurses for taking good care of her and for the well wishes. Make a little joke about the conspiracy theories and then say she is looking forward to returning to her royal duties.

      There. Done. “Headbanging” over.

      The fact that they haven’t done this in over two months is screaming either blatant stubbornness, overwhelming incompetence and/or she just can’t do it for any number of reasons.

      • Jacqueline Thurman says:

        The video should have been done long ago. She wouldn’t even have to mention cancer. I think people won’t be fully relieved until they see her in person. Some say the new video is AI. It is weird you can’t really say yes or no because Kate is quite robotic in real life !!!

    • Shawna says:

      Maybe someone smart has advised them to stop with the fake photos and sightings until the Resurrection of Keen Khrist. But I wish they’d keep stepping on rakes.

    • Allyn says:

      A different possibility occurred to me for “they can’t shut it down” a few days ago.

      If you accept everything that has been officially said as true — planned surgery in January, recovery until Easter and relaunch at that time — then a plausible reason for the really awful official comms, the lack of anything approaching “proof of life,” reliance on tabloids and grainy photos to send a message that “all is well” might be that they sold the Kate’s story of her surgery, recovery, and relaunch to a tabloid or a glossy for a big story at Easter, with an exception carved out for the Mother’s Day message, which would hamstring their ability to respond to the rumors in any official channel since they can’t undercut the exclusive they sold.

      I am completely agnostic about this, but it is a plausible reading. If so, they completely played themselves when things blew up spectacularly.

  8. JT says:

    Oh there’s nothing they can do? Charles is right there! All they had to do was copy everything that C&C are doing and they wouldn’t be in this mess. It’s never too late to course correct but the fact that they are letting this foolishness ride is a choice. Instead, they’ve put out 4 versions of “Kate” that are all suspect. They’d rather be seen as incompetent, lying fools, on the same level as North Korea than be transparent for a second. Unbelievable.

  9. ML says:

    Look, at this point KP absolutely knows that in general PR land, they needed to sit K in front of a friendly camera and have her speak a pithy sentence or two about her health, or had a sharp, believable picture taken of her with say, Charles. They are commenting up a storm (complaining and explaining), but they are not choosing the obvious method to fix things. Why? A ton of PR people all over the world have been quoted (free advice!) saying what they need to do. Instead they are attempting to hire a PR comms asst at a below-market salary to fix this. Or are they?

  10. Amy Bee says:

    When is KP going to admit that their initial statement is what started all the speculation and conspiracy theories?

    • Jais says:

      The initial statement and the fact that William was trying to say that he was also taking off till Easter. For the school runs🙄

      • Michelle says:

        If I hear one more thing about these “school runs”!! Since when is rushing out the door shoving a donut at your kids and dumping them in front of their school such treasured and indispensable family time????

      • Royal Downfall Watched says:

        Everyday when I have to stop working my stressful job to take my daughter to school and then do the same to pick her up I think about the Wales. I have to work well into the night to make up the 30-60 minutes (depending on traffic) time it took for me to do the school run. And you know what? I feel lucky I can do that for her! The idea that Bill and Cathy are sitting around panting with bated breath to do the school run and can do NOTHING ELSE is such a slap in the face. They have Nannies. They have RPOs. There is zero chance in a cold day in hell that they are doing the school run (either at all or other own). The fact that they keep pushing this bs is pathological.

      • equality says:

        If he truly were doing school runs that would be where he should let a photo or video leak. Proof that the children are doing fine and that he is just being there for them.

  11. Carmen says:

    Okay, so: having apparently learned nothing from the Mother’s Day fiasco, KP told The Sun to go ahead and print another photo, which they knew was fake.

    One can only conclude that the Palace is located off in some parallel universe where the only thing its inhabitants ever listen to is the voices echoing through their empty craniums (crania?)

    It’s interesting that Chuck hasn’t lifted a finger to help Willy extricate himself from this mess, and Camilla is probably splitting her sides with glee. Poor Williekins has been abandoned by the grown -ups and left all by his little lonesome to deal with the fuck-up of the decade.

    Carajo, I need more popcorn,

  12. Becks1 says:

    Again, for the cheap seats – if that’s Kate in the video, why isn’t she working? she looked perfectly healthy, maybe too thin, but she was practically skipping through the farm stand. Why not send her out on a short engagement or two? Oh wait, because that interferes with her vacation.

    the Buzzfeed article included in the links section yesterday was really good – it was just quotes from PR professionals about what they would do or what KP should have done, and one quote that stood out to me was something like, be first, be right, be credible. Here, KP was neither first, nor right, nor credible. And there’s a crisis manager named Molly McPherson (I think) who is getting a lot of time on Today etc and she had a clip yesterday with a great point – these aren’t conspiracy theories, these are people trying to fill in the holes in this story, and there are a lot of holes. When you have such a void of information, people are going to try to fill it. We aren’t seeing the conspiracy theories with Charles because there isn’t that void. Even the story about Charles being dead was relatively quickly shot down as russian disinformation.

    KP let this get away from them from the get-go and while I think W&K will ultimately be okay in terms of the sycophantic british press and the hardcore royalists, the rest of the world is rolling their eyes and laughing at them and its going to be hard to walk that back.

    • The Hench says:

      Exactly. Beautifully summarised. Molly McPherson also said (which is the same point but stuck with me) “In PR, if you don’t tell your story, someone else will”.

      • BeanieBean says:

        Which is exactly why Harry told his, because they’d (rota rats) been doing it for years.

  13. Jais says:

    So KP has not officially said it was them but told the sun that they were good with the sun publishing it. Such a cozy relationship they have.

    • Harper says:

      KP to The Sun: We are not going to stop you from running it. KP talked about it and decided the video would buy them another week or so of deflection. They had a void of two weeks before Easter and decided this video would mollify the peasants for at least one week. Now this upcoming week? What to do? I predict they will start dropping hints that Kate has suffered a setback due to the pressure. They have to start lowering people’s expectations if she really isn’t able to appear.

  14. kyliegirl says:

    If they are impersonators, they did get the dynamic between Kate and William correct. Kate is the one trying to look “happy Wife” while William walks along side ignoring her and refusing to even assist his “ailing” wife with the bags. These people are so bad at this. This is a man who has slagged off work because he is taking care of his family and he can’t even carry two bags of bread?!? I am not even going to address how bad it looks that Kate can “bounce” along, but can’t do the minimum of sitting for a photo or short video. They have shown what they think of “their subjects” many times, when we people finally believe them?

  15. Michelle says:

    If she is “fine” then why wasn’t she at the St Patrick’s Day thing. Why does she need yet another month off?
    This “she’s fine just lazy” isn’t quite the flex they think it is.

  16. Digital Unicorn says:

    There is plenty they can do to sort this mess out but they won’t as they have too much to hide now esp if they have backed up that farm video that clearly has doubles in it.

    Its a mix of internal politics and general ineptitude on KP’s part. I think KP is now only working for William hence why they are allowing her reputation to be shredded like this – makes it easier on him when the divorce announcement and subsequent PR war happens. She and her family are absolutely being setup to take ALL the flak.

    • Shawna says:

      So interesting they found away to drag Pa Middleton into it finally!

    • Robot Dog says:

      It would be the gift that keeps on giving for William – drag out every mean, lazy, stupid , arrrogant thing Kate has done all the way back to the girlfriend years, and say, “see? This is what’s been holding William back! All that worrying and covering and valiantly trying to make it work, dontcha know? Really for real he’s going to be the bestest, manliest, kingliest king who ever kinged from now on now that he’s shed the dead weight! Just, uh, don’t look too closely at William’s equally mean, lazy, stupid and arrogant past, k?”

  17. Jks says:

    Interesting. Until now, neither Gabriella Munro (the more likely Kate lookalike) nor KP were denying nor confirming the veracity of the video but now KP wants us to think that it was Kate? It’s a lose-lose situation.

    • Thelma says:

      Just looked up Gabriella Munro. Her heart-shaped face is more I. Line with the woman in the video than Kate. If it’s Kate, then not only is she skinnier than usual but I’m inclined to think she had some surgery around the jawline.

      • Jks says:

        Yes. Also note that she’s younger looking, like the woman in the footage.
        She’s got long slim legs. Kate’s got short legs.
        Her calf muscle insertion is high, whereas Kate has low calf muscle insertion.
        She has photo of Windsor Farm shop tote in her Instagram, as another poster here noted. So she probably shops there from time to time.
        She has worn her hair exactly like that consistently.
        Her jawline is slimmer and tighter with no sign of jowls, and the chin is pointier, like the woman in the footage. Kate is more square shaped, and has jowls like Carole. Losing weight would only have worsened the sagginess of the skin.
        Plus her gait, the shape of her ears…

    • VivaLasVirgos says:

      Apparently, there’s another look alike who has yet to say anything. At least according to something I read on Reddit yesterday.

  18. Eurydice says:

    Sure, there’s nothing W&K can do to combat conspiracy nuts, but they don’t have to go out of their way to feed them. And if they want to safeguard their privacy, then they should make sure that their public statements and appearances make sense – that they’re authentic, not contradictory or illogical or downright weird. In the course of a few weeks we’ve seen a Kate face that was de-aged by 8 years, we’ve seen the supposed back of a Kate face, a grimly exhausted and puffy Kate face, and now a thinner, energetic and somewhat rearranged Kate face. This doesn’t make sense even to everyday people, never mind “headbangers.”

  19. The Hench says:

    As a UK citizen what really boils my blood about all of this is that I fear it’s all going to settle back down. Our so-called media will continue to obfuscate and burnish and, sometimes, outright lie to prop up this Royal shambles and Kate and William will continue on as they always have.

    For a brief moment I thought the shenanigans might actually crack open this conspiracy between the RF and the UK media and return proper reporting but now, depressingly, I can see us all being dragged back to the status quo ante KateGate.

    Sigh.

    • Jais says:

      That is a depressing thought. At the very least, maybe the way photos are done will change? Cold comfort.

    • caroline says:

      At the moment, I can’t see anyone in the British press breaking rank to reveal the truth. I feel it would have to be someone from abroad with no ties to Murdoch or Rothermere, no desire to have an “in” with the Royals, someone who has the tenacity to get perhaps the scoop of the century. Any takers?

    • Liz says:

      There’ll be a sanitized cleaned up version of whatever went on presented to their gullible followers.

      And then the clown show will continue with their willing co conspirators the media.

    • AMB says:

      Until there are either financial consequences (loss of revenue) or incentives (more lucre to be gotten by doing it) nothing will change.

  20. Izzy says:

    Saying KP signed off on the video is not the flex they think it is.

  21. Libra says:

    The pleas are coming from all over; ” leave this woman alone!!! “. Where were all these people when Meghan was being destroyed?? Does no one in the U.K. see the difference??

    • Beverley says:

      The ugly truth is these very people who are pleading that Kate be left alone were positively GIDDY that Meghan was being tormented. There is no sense or fairness, no sense that what is wrong and painful for KKKhate is also wrong for Meghan.
      And we all know why.

  22. OriginalMich says:

    The goodwill they would have generated with transparency would have paid dividends for years. Instead, they made themselves laughingstocks.

    • sparrow says:

      At one point I was saying they snatched defeat from the jaws of victory by not making the whole thing more human and relatable: they could have reached out to the public, updated, thanked people, created a common bond with nearly everyone in the UK who’s had a medical journey to navigate. However, I now think this was cosmetic surgery, so they couldn’t be relatable about it, they had to be secretive. I stand to be corrected on my current theory – this has been the biggest sham episode in the recent history of the BRF and she could come back with something totally different and indeed been through abdo surgery.

  23. aquarius64 says:

    This debacle will be two weeks old next Sunday and it will not die down. The BM will try to sweep it under the rug but SM and international press will not forget. Any pics from KP will get the side eye. The future king and queen’s reputations are more damaged and they are global laughingstocks. It also gives a preview of what type of monarch William will be and the performance review for William and Kate is poor. I still hold the argument the Crown can be subject to kompromat because of Can’t and Won’t. If Kate’s father is weighing in he’s seeing his family name dragged through the mud because of his royal by marriage child and he’s fearing total ruin at the same level of the Boleyns.

  24. Cerys says:

    All they had to do was publish a short video of Kate reading some get well cards a few weeks ago and all this fuss would never have happened. I had bought into the theory that she was gravely ill and couldn’t do such a thing. Now, however, I think the reluctance to provide “proof of life” is down to arrogance.

  25. Mary Pester says:

    Christ make it stop. Headbangers, really, maybe someone should tell them that 90% of people who have followed this fairytale of fk ups are indeed head bangers NOW, because we can’t believe that the future king and queen are THIS STUPID, LAZY AND DISRESPECTFUL to the people who pay their wages.

  26. Rapunzel says:

    So people theorizong have a “vested interest” in keeping the theories alive? Nope. We just have brains. And eyes.

  27. Chelsea says:

    The new tactic seems to be focusing on ‘conspiracy theories’ to absolve themselves of this mess and they’ve gotten some in America like ENews and of course Sykes at DB to go along with it but it’s not working because most people remember that THEY were the ones spreading disinformation when they faked a picture of Kate knowing there was speculation about what was going on with Kate. They purposefully tried to mislead the public and seeing as it was only last week no one has forgotten about it.

    There is a reason why BP was able to kill the Charles is dead story so quickly: they’ve been providing updates on him including pictures and video of him reading his get well cards and they have not been caught lying about him. That is the issue here. No one trusts KP because they’ve been caught out. The only way for KP to get back from this is to reckon with that but they seem to be like their principals: lazy, stubborn, and with a perpetual victim complex.

    • Defender of Cats says:

      It is just to poison the well. Notice how they always focus on the Brazilian buttlift. They know it is tongue in cheek, but they mix buttlifts with divorce.

  28. carrotface says:

    Wish Kate would just pop up on like IG live while meal prepping all “heyyyyy guys sorry I haven’t been around, been a lot going on! Aaaanyway just wanted to pop up and say hi I’m good sorry for the confusion haha!”

  29. bitchy architect says:

    I don’t think its either of them in the “farm” photo. His jaw is way too chiseled for it to be William. When he was younger yes he had that angular chiseled jaw but if you look at recent photos that jawline has gone the way of his hair and he is quite puffy now- look at the photo of him in his “military” whites. And same goes for her- she looks like a young version of Kate.
    And if it was her- she looks perfectly fine and capable of doing events or at least posing for a photo- so the fact that she hasn’t done that again leads me to believe not her.

  30. Vanessa says:

    William and kate and the British tabloids were totally ok with conspiracy theories when it came to Meghan . They gleefully retweet’s every nasty hurtful racist conspiracy theories about Meghan and her children but now that is coming back to them all suddenly it’s wrong . They allowed it they opened the floodgates because of their own jealousy they wanted to destroy Meghan and Harry marriage . You know they saying when you dig a grave dig two one yourself also that what’s happening to Kate and William now .

  31. Lau says:

    It could get worse because if they did release a video it would most certainly end up looking like a deepfake just like her video from last year for an event I can’t remember (her Christmas caroling thing maybe ?)
    Also lol it could be Rose Hanbury on that TMZ video, most of William exes look like that.

  32. Lauren says:

    What’s going to be interesting moving forward is seeing if William still wants to be big in the US

  33. VilleRose says:

    I fully enjoyed the “Princess Kate Middleton” hahaha, I don’t think I’ve seen that before. It’s usually “Princess Catherine” or just Kate Middleton or sometimes “Princess Kate” (which only People Mag has tried to make a thing and it never caught on). Probably an editorial mistake but I love how she cannot escape her full name. She was Kate Middleton for a decade and that’s what we will always refer to her as, never Princess Catherine. It’s the worst rebranding in the history of rebrands.

    Also this part: “While Kate and William’s office have declined to formally authenticate the clip, the Sun has now made it clear their team effectively signed off on it. In a highly significant statement disguised as a throwaway remark, the paper said, “The Sun spoke to Kensington Palace to explain what we would be publishing before we ran the footage and photos.”

    This is tantamount to the Sun admitting the whole thing was staged and highlights the relationship between the BM and KP. Why would they run that by the palace first before just publishing the photos and clip? I don’t believe the Kate impersonator conspiracies (as hilarious as they are), I believe it was fully Kate and William in that video. But it was very evident it was clearly staged and meant to be caught on video which is what the Sun basically admitted to without saying that in so many words. They were hoping a video of Kate walking and looking well would quell the chatter but it only made it worse. Now people are wondering if she is so healthy, why isn’t she back to work? And also the quality of the video sucked, you’d think they’d want a clear video of her. Instead we get grainy car pictures and blurry videos because they are so messy.

  34. QuiteContrary says:

    KP effed this up, well, royally.

    I think the tarnish of the frankenphoto will follow W&K forever — like Charles’ tampon phone call. This whole PR clusterf*ck will linger for a long time, even if the rota tries to diminish its significance.

    American news organizations will remember.

  35. Just Jade says:

    They should have a conference meeting with all their rats to find a solution for the headbangers. Isn’t bad that I am enjoying the mess a little too much?

  36. Feebee says:

    “The Farm Shop visit was a good idea as she needed to be seen”. By whom? A smattering of locals? If this random video of her* hadn’t been taken how would it qualify as being seen?

    if the right move was to be seen then they had a multitude of other options and probably all of then wouldn’t have caused the massive “it isn’t her” backlash.

    I’m beginning to think that rather than this being a terrible time for them that they’re rather enjoying the push and pull of the situation.

  37. Defender of Cats says:

    Ha, I though Kaiser was joking but no, ‘headbangers’ now. I will add this to the list of insults that have been thrown at the general and worldwide public.

    • Mary Pester says:

      Yeah Kim yung Kate is going to reappear at Easter, resplendent in a new wiglet, complete with bunny ears, skipping up the path to the church, sprinkling Easter eggs on the way. She will get to the doors, turn with a saintly smile, put her hands out as a blessing to all, and say “, yes my people, I am risen”.
      To which Charlotte will say, for gods sake mother you are so embarrassing, and George will storm past into the church, and Louis?,yeah Louis is sat on the grass, surrounded by other kids, all covered in chocolate laughing his head of, saying “nah, she’s not risen, she’s called Kate, but she’s as mad as a box of frogs 🐰🐰😂😂

      • Saucy&Sassy says:

        Mary Pester, LOL! I especially like the vision of her skipping up the path to church in bunny ears.

  38. Monlette says:

    The whole thing is a mess. Kate is too sick to work, but happy and well rested and making breakfast for the family and carrying her own groceries and staying up to tinker in photoshop? It’s easy to understand that Kate might be taking full advantage of her sick leave, and can’t be buggered to reassure her fans she will be back soon, but then why is her husband in hiding too?
    I mean his dad is ill, maybe dying, so if he is ever going to step up and be the “prince that was promised” his fans think he is, now is the time. It’s understandable that he can’t work if he is helping Kate to the toilet, but she seems quite spry in the totally candid video.
    It gives the impression something is rotten in the state of England, and it’s weird they are too clueless to realize that.

  39. Jensa says:

    Kate has just announced that she’s being treated for cancer* (hasn’t specified the type). I just don’t know WTAF is going on here.

    (* specifically that cancer “had been present” – sounds a bit past tense, but who knows)

    • ArtHistorian says:

      Why didn’t they just announce this from the start? It would have given her sympathy and closed off any debate of when she would return. People would understand why someone going through chemotherapy would not be up for public appearances.

      Instead they lied (by having reporters specifying that it was not cancer) and they doubled down with a fake photo and what is most likely a fake video.

      They really killed their own credibility when it was completely avoidable and could have given her a boost of instant sympathy. I think this is all William and damn is he stupid!

      • Dee(2) says:

        I thought the same. They need to clean house and pay some crisis management staff. They took a situation where even the most stringent detractors would have said lay off and made it into a worldwide joke. When Charles announced he has cancer if they didn’t want to do it back to back they should have announced it following his blueprint a few weeks later. Now you’ll still have “truthers” for no damn reason. I wish her well because no one deserves cancer, and I hope they reassess what’s really important going forward.

      • AC says:

        I also just saw the video. I hope she recovers.
        If they were truthful in the first place instead of providing a fake Kate photo that was killed by 4 major agencies, they wouldn’t have lost credibility.
        I’m sorry but because THEY were caught lying, there’s still some (or even many) who don’t believe everything they say.

      • Christine says:

        Agreed, ArtHistorian, every single bit of this was avoidable from the start.

        Rose and David Rocksavage have definitely crossed the Wails off of any list they ever might have been on. Poor Iris is going to have the rumor that she is William’s love child haunting her for the rest of her life, and she is also a very young child. No one is worried about her, though.

  40. GamerGrrl says:

    She just released a video saying she has cancer.

    • Renae says:

      So, anybody still think that video was Kate?

      • Schrodinger's Kate says:

        @Renae I still question the authenticity of this video because William doesn’t have that prominent chin anymore. If he ever really did. This guy’s chin is pointy.

        Also in the newly released video Kate’s jawline looks very square. But it is a head on view so that may account for the difference.

        I guess we will be pondering all of these videos and pictures even though we now know what Kate looks like now and what she’s going through.

      • Christine says:

        No, the video makes even less sense now. If she’s just started a chemo regime, power walking through the parking lot of a farm stand looking like she’s having a big laugh while carrying a heavy bag is nonsensical.

        I think one of the doubles pairs thought they were doing something hilarious, and now they just look like assholes.

  41. Interested Gawker says:

    I hope the POW has a successful recovery.

    This is exactly what should have happened from the beginning, a clear video explanation. The shady ridiculousness of the way KP handled this situation was ghastly, cost the monarchy its reputation with international news agencies and fed the narrative that they were hiding something worse.

    • Kit says:

      Or a press conference like Charles’ announcement. KP should have done it a month a half ago. That would allow enough time for the family to deal with the news, avoided the photoshopped and apology for the Mother’s Day photo. Avoided the TMZ, the Sun and entire rota insane narratives. Avoided becoming a meme.

      William was seen gallivanting at movie premiere with Tom Cruise and at BAFTA, and taking shots with another actor. Pippa in various bikinis vacationing with family. BTW, these photos and actions collide with the narrative with the delay on releasing Kate’s cancer and its treatment as well.

      • Interested Gawker says:

        That’s what’s so galling, we were not ‘headbangers’. The BM denied cancer was her issue from the outset. The family was carrying on as normal. William wasn’t normal at all. The Middletons were silent -that was a red flag! Those pictures and that video they were scolding people for questioning were FAKE! KP absolutely knew how to manage all this, they simply did it far too late after repeatedly trying to dupe the public!

  42. Tessa says:

    Now rebecca english calls William a class act.

    • Beverley says:

      Sure, Jan. Such a class act that he won’t even appear in the video showing support. He couldn’t even bring himself to hold her hand during her announcement. Wouldn’t we all want such classy, supportive partners?!? /s

      Rebecca English will kiss Peg’s nether regions until the cows come home!

  43. Catnip says:

    This event has a lot of people scratching their head. Why so much drama.

    There are laws and HR protocols in place when public figures who work for the government or public institution have to take a leave of absence . It’s true for majority of people even for heads of corporations. Why do you think that is?

    Because it’s one’s responsibility. There’s no need to share medical details in the case of illness and there are actual laws which guide HR how to handle such matter.

    This isn’t rocket science. Many people around the world, from regular people, presidents, generals, actors, singers, prime ministers, kings and queens, to popes, have dealt with health issues before. There’s an official and acceptable way to manage this type of news without giving up privacy.

    It’s not unreasonable to see why people are actually befuddled by the awkwardness of it all. Having young children isn’t a unique situation either. People manage to do these things everyday with young children. Sometimes, it’s a child who is diagnosed with cancer or other illness. This is real life. Cancer is not a rare disease. People get sick, get injured every day.

    The duty to notify doesn’t mean giving up privacy. It’s about responsibility. It’s about basic courtesy to the people around you whom you rely on to support you. It’s also practical to notify because people and organizations relying on you need to know so they can make arrangements to plan for your absence.

    Charles did it the right away. No drama and he lived up to motto of “get on with it.” Also, enough about how unprecedented this is. It isn’t unprecedented. Other royals managed to do this . The neighbor down the street managed it. The officemate next to you did it. The King of England just did it. The world hasn’t ended.