A BBC reporter who fueled conspiracy theories about Princess Kate’s whereabouts has turned her account private following a tirade of critcism. Sonja McLaughlan – a sports journalist at the BBC – made a number of claims about the Princess of Wales as fans speculated as to her whereabouts before her cancer announcement.
In one post on social media platform X, Sonja echoed conspiracy theories that the person Prince William had been spotted shopping with at a Windsor shop was not Kate. In a now deleted post, she even claimed it could have been a body double, while William could have been an actor.
Sonja has since turned her social media private following harsh backlash after Kate’s shock cancer announcement last Friday. The Princess of Wales made an address to the nation where she revealed she was undergoing preventative chemotherapy for an unspecified form of cancer.
Before Kate’s unveiling, Sonja wrote: “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.”
Commenting on a video which compared the Princess in the footage to other past photos of herself, the BBC freelance journalist added: “It’s so obviously not Kate. Some newspaper are reporting it as fact.
“But it’s not her. No conspiracy theorist but all very odd.” The BBC filmed Kate’s announcement in the grounds at Windsor Castle last Wednesday, where the Princess opened up about her cancer diagnosis.
More follows.