Rachel Johnson, sister of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, has claimed that after spotting ‘red flags’ in a video of Kate and William at a Windsor farm shop she believed Kate ‘wasn’t there’
When Kate and William were filmed by a member of the public at a farm shop near their Windsor Home of Adelaide Cottage last weekend, it should have put speculation over the Princess of Wales’ whereabouts to rest, but even high-profile figures have expressed their doubts over the veracity of the video.
Rachel Johnson – the sister of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson – has claimed that after noticing what she believed to be a “few red flags” in the video, she struggled to believe that she was really seeing Kate walking and carrying a shopping bag. The columnist was even left questioning ‘her own sanity’.
Johnson’s comments, written for the Evening Standard, came after weeks of wild conspiracy theories about the Princess of Wales’ health and whereabouts – after Kensington Palace announced in January that after undergoing an abdominal surgery, Kate would be off-duty until at least Easter.
The palace didn’t divulge the details of Kate’s medical condition, citing her desire for privacy and normalcy for her three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis.
Kate has been spotted in public three times during her recovery from surgery. However, cruel speculation online has continued to fuel the rumour mill, and Johnson found herself questioning whether or not the video was real, and if it was, why William and Kate – who value their privacy – would have allowed it to be published without pushing back.
The “red flags” noted by Johnson in the video that gave her pause were that “No husband would allow a wife who is convalescing to carry anything, let alone a well brought-up Prince of the Blood, let alone a bulging plastic bag of groceries. Two, the woman looked nothing like Kate. She was younger, slimmer, faster — almost a walking advertisement for abdominal surgery.”
She then quizzed an art expert who also reportedly expressed doubts on whether or not the video really featured the Prince and Princess of Wales, calling the people filmed “lookalikes” and not very good ones.
The man who filmed the video in question – Nelson Silva – has confirmed that the couple were definitely William and Kate in response to outlandish claims about body doubles, as has a professional Kate lookalike, Heidi Agan, who firmly denied she appeared in the shots.
“There has obviously been some speculation about whether it was Kate and William in that footage and stills. In fact, my own social media has gone crazy as people think it is me,” Heidi told The Mirror, “but I know it is not. I was at work at the time so I know that is not me. I 100 percent believe that is Kate Middleton and William in that video.”
Johnson argued in her column that even if it were the two royals who were filmed at the farm shop, it seemed, in her view, contradictory to their previous strategy of closely guarded private lives. She said the couple “seem to have blown up their previous strategy, turned anyone with an iPhone — ie everyone — into a potential paparazzo and opened up a whole new market in pictures of themselves.”
Johnson also noted that William’s press team may now struggle to dispute future publication of papped photos as the royal couple go about their private lives, with this video, in her view, setting a precedent that publication of this type of material will not be challenged.
Kensington Palace has been contacted for comment.
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