Did a source close to the British royal family say that Catherine, Princess of Wales, was "sacrificed" or "murdered," and then "replaced" with a "body double"? No, that's not true: The article that made the claim was published by a website known for spreading false claims and is not corroborated by any evidence. The article didn't include any direct quotes from its purported sources to substantiate its claim about the Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton. On March 22, 2024, the princess -- not a body double -- appeared in a video message posted on her official Instagram account to announce that she has been diagnosed with cancer.
The claim appeared in an article (archived here) published by The People's Voice on March 20, 2024, under the title:
Royal Insider: Kate Middleton Was Sacrificed and Replaced With Body Double
The article stated:
According to Christine Fitzgerald, Diana's best friend during her final few years, the British public would not accept another Princess Diana situation, which would involve the Royal family getting away with murder for a second time in a matter of decades.
This is what the article looked like at the time of writing:
(Source: The People's Voice screenshot taken on Fri Mar 22 15:00:18 2024 UTC)
The People's Voice has an extensive history of spreading false narratives. Its "news" about the Princess of Wales is another spin-off of old and debunked conspiracy theories about the Illuminati (archived here) and reptiloids (archived here), also mentioned in the body of the article.
The piece lacked any direct quotes from the supposed insiders and skipped mentions of the "two aides" after its first sentence.
Furthermore, it failed to explain how the only named source -- a woman introduced as "Christine Fitzgerald, Diana's best friend during her final few years" -- supposedly learned about the Princess of Wales' alleged sacrifice or murder.
A further inquiry shows that a source named "Christine Fitzgerald" was included in "The Biggest Secret," a book written by the British conspiracy theorist David Icke. On page 450, this woman speculates that the royal family -- whom she refers to as "lizards" -- don't die but "metamorphosise."
That book, however, was published in 1999 -- 25 years before the current spike in conspiracy theories about the Princess of Wales.
A Google News search of thousands of credible news websites did not produce any results confirming that a "Christine Fitzgerald" had recently made any such claim as reported by The People's Voice:
(Source: Google News screenshot taken on Fri Mar 22 15:54:30 2024 UTC)
Lead Stories found no credible sources confirming that "Christine Fitzgerald" was ever part of the close circle of Diana, Princess of Wales.
Rumors about the current Princess of Wales' disappearance from public view started to circulate on social media after she took a leave from royal duties until after Easter to recover from a planned abdominal surgery (archived here) in mid-January 2024. The rumors accelerated after a scandal over a digitally altered photo of the Princess of Wales and her three children (archived here), which Catherine herself admitted editing. Rumors of a body double -- denied (archived here) by at least one professional lookalike -- surged again after the March 18, 2024, publication of a video of the Prince and Princess of Wales posted by TMZ (archived here) and The Sun (archived here).
On March 22, 2024, the Princess of Wales announced (archived here) in a prerecorded video aired by the BBC that she had been diagnosed with cancer and will be undergoing chemotherapy. A spokesperson for Kensington Palace, the couple's official London residence, said the same day that the princess would return to official duties once she has received medical clearance to do so, media reported.
The People's Voice
The People's Voice has a lengthy record of publishing false stories in the past. It describes itself as a resource "comprised of various web pages operated by Fact Checked Limited," but it has nothing to do with fact-checking.
As of this writing, its website contained a liability disclaimer, saying:
FACT CHECKED LIMITED AND/OR ITS SUPPLIERS MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS ABOUT THE SUITABILITY, RELIABILITY, AVAILABILITY, TIMELINESS, AND ACCURACY OF THE INFORMATION, SOFTWARE, PRODUCTS, SERVICES AND RELATED GRAPHICS CONTAINED ON THE SITE FOR ANY PURPOSE. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, ALL SUCH INFORMATION, SOFTWARE, PRODUCTS, SERVICES AND RELATED GRAPHICS ARE PROVIDED 'AS IS' WITHOUT WARRANTY OR CONDITION OF ANY KIND.
Learn more
The British royal family is a constant target for rumormongering: Lead Stories fact checks of other claims that mention "Kate Middleton" can be found here. Our general collection of fact checks of claims about the Windsors is here.
