Kate Middleton Video Compared To Last Time She Was Seen on Camera

A Kate Middleton video shot in Windsor sparked a major online debate with some doubting whether it actually shows the royal.

The only image of the Princess of Wales put out officially by Kensington Palace on March 10 turned out to have been doctored by Kate, fueling wild speculation over her health.

When British tabloid The Sun and TMZ released a new video of Kate and Prince William interacting warmly at Windsor Farm Shop that was filmed over the weekend, all eyes were on whether it would put the theories to bed.

In short, it does not appear to have had that effect, despite an interview with the man who shot the video, in which he said he also saw the royal couple close up in the store.

Part of the reason for that is the significant change in Kate's appearance compared to the way she looked before her surgery.

The last video of Kate prior to the Windsor Farm Shop footage was on Christmas Day, also her last official public appearance.

The princess does appear to look different after her surgery, though having been given two weeks' recovery in hospital and three months at home, some change is not necessarily a huge surprise.

Kate was also not wearing makeup in the new video, while older pictures show her made up and ready for planned appearances in the public eye.

In Christmas Day videos posted by fans Kate can be seen smiling warmly and without any hint that she would soon be undergoing major surgery.

BBC journalist Sonja McLaughlan was among those who were not convinced it was really Kate. She wrote on X, formerly Twitter: "Disturbing that newspapers like The Times are reporting this as fact.

"Headline 'Kate seen in public for the first time' when it's clearly not her. As someone has said. Could be a couple of lookalikes making mischief."

Andy Cohen also wrote on Twitter: "That ain't Kate..."

Matt Wilkinson, royal editor at The Sun, defended the newspaper's decision to name Kate and William as the two people in the video during an online Q&A on the publication's website.

He wrote: "The video we published is 100 percent Kate. Here at The Sun we have extremely reliable sources and verify our facts.

"I've been a journalist for 22 years and been a royal reporter for four of them. The video was verified before being published and there is no more reliable source than an eyewitness and a video which was confirmed.

"Sadly, there is a lot of disinformation from people who really aren't in the know but peddle confusion and doubt in an attempt to make themselves look clever. Don't listen to them!"

Conspiracy theories have been rife, including suggestions the video was actually filmed in December, based on the presence of temporary sheds put up for the Christmas period, said to have festive decorations on.

However, new pictures emerged showing the sheds were in fact still up and still featured the wreaths.

Some suggested Kate looked like she was too tall to be the real princess, though such theories did not appear to account for the fact in the farm shop video she appears to be walking in front of William.

Nelson Silva, 40, an engineer, told the newspaper: "I'm not so much shocked that these comments have continued, I'm just confused how exactly they can continue.

"This is a video clearly showing her and William. I saw them with my own eyes. It was a completely relaxed situation.

"What more do you need to lay off her? I thought after this was released they'd go quiet. But these people are so invested in the drama now.

"They've put so much time and energy into these rumors and lies that they can't pull the plug."

Famous cricketer Kevin Pietersen lives near Windsor and wrote on X that he sees Kate regularly: "The conspiracy theories around Kate are absolutely absurd! We see W&K most days and in the last couple days too!

"It beggars belief that people would be so ridiculous and cruel in writing B******* on this platform that are out and out lies!

"W&K are the most wonderful parents and as normal/humble as they come. Let K who is recovering from an operation recover. Leave her and her beautiful family alone!!!!"

Jack Royston is Newsweek's chief royal correspondent based in London. You can find him on X, formerly Twitter, at @jack_royston and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.

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