John Oliver has weighed in on the speculation surrounding the Princess of Wales, joking that Kate ‘could have died 18 months ago.
The Last Week Tonight host made the comments in an appearance on Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live on Tuesday night – despite seeing the princess twice in one week.
“There’s a chance she died 18 months ago, not zero,” the British comedian.
“They can be ‘Weekend at Bernie’s-ing’ this situation,” Oliver added, referencing the 1989 film.
Oliver continued with host Andy Cohen, who noted the royal family’s motto ‘Never Complain, Never Explain’.
John Oliver has weighed in on the speculation surrounding the Princess of Wales, joking that Kate ‘could have died 18 months ago’ during a late night appearance
Prince William will leave Windsor for Westminster Abbey on Monday with his wife, the Princess of Wales by his side
Kensington Palace released the first photo of the Princess of Wales since the operation
‘I’m not saying it happened, but I’m saying it’s not zero until proven otherwise. Until we see her sitting there with a copy of today’s paper,” he said.
Oliver shared that he had ignored the speculation about Kate until the ‘photoshop thing’.
“It feels like you’re almost handling it badly in an impressive way at this point,” the HBO star claimed.
The mother-of-three was not expected to be seen in public until after Easter following stomach surgery and two weeks in a private London hospital in January.
However, she was photographed on Monday with Prince William as they left Windsor Castle together.
Her surprise appearance on Monday came as wild online conspiracy theories swirled around the princess and her health.
Kate was also spotted on March 4 in the passenger seat of a 4×4 Audi that her mother Carole Middleton was driving near Windsor Castle.
It came as Kensington Palace came under increasing pressure to release the original Mother’s Day photograph after the Princess of Wales apologized after admitting she edited the family portrait of herself sitting with Prince George , Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
Experts told MailOnline it was altered using Photoshop and related AI tools.
The world’s biggest photo agencies later ‘killed’ the photo after noticing signs of digital editing, including a missing part of Princess Charlotte’s sleeve and the wrong edge of her wrist and skirt, and the placement of Kate’s zip.
The Princess of Wales issued an apology on social media. She said: ‘Like many amateur photographers, I occasionally experiment with editing. I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion that the family photo we shared yesterday caused. I hope everyone who celebrated had a very happy Mother’s Day.
She signed it ‘C’ – for Catherine.
PR experts have described the Mother’s Day photo fiasco as a ‘massive own goal’ and urged royal officials to release the unedited image in a bid to regain public trust.
Kensington Palace had initially faced calls to reveal the truth behind the image after the world’s top image agencies – including the Press Association – ‘killed’ the image over claims it had been digitally manipulated.
Several well-placed royal sources have told the Mail that Kate and her team have found the public fallout over the ‘edited’ photograph deeply ‘disturbing’.
Several well-placed royal sources have told the Mail that Kate and her team have found the public fallout over the ‘edited’ photograph deeply ‘disturbing’
They said: ‘Everyone, including the princess, is a bit shocked by what has happened.
‘A mistake was made, but she has put her hand up and apologized. It has been very upsetting all around.
William and Kate often release a personal tribute on Mother’s Day, but it was also hoped that a new photo of the princess – the first official one since Christmas Day – would put to bed vicious social media rumors about her condition.
In recent weeks, internet trolls have spread a series of outrageous platitudes about her welfare, which have now become the subject of mainstream speculation, even on the BBC.
Kensington Palace has not backed down from its initial announcement in January that the future queen had undergone what has only been described as ‘scheduled abdominal surgery’ and while she was recovering well, it was unlikely she was able to resume official duties until after Easter.