Kate Middleton conspiracy theorists have seized on a seven-month-old Twitter post suggesting she passed a TV magician a secret note with “help” written on it—but the illusionist told Regalrumination.com it was a misunderstood joke.
Derren Brown became famous in Britain after his TV show Mind Control launched in 2000. More recently his stage show Unbelievable, was part of the Royal Variety Performance, on November 30, 2023.
It was there he met and Kate, before later posting on X on December 14: “‘Unbelievable’ at the Royal Variety. Both were very lovely and terrific at the meet & greet.
“Incidentally, when she shook hands with me she pressed a tiny piece of folded paper into my palm. I looked at it later – it just had one word written inside – HELP. #DameEdna.”
Aaron Chown – WPA Pool/Getty Images and Belinda Jiao/Getty Images
While somewhat cryptic, the post drew little controversy and the version earned a flurry of laughing emoji when it was first written in December.
However, since then Kate has become a target for conspiracy theorists who have filled social media with sometimes wild and at points grotesque speculation about her absence from public life in 2024, none of which Brown knew about at the time.
This led to his post going newly viral, with some on social media stating he was being serious and some even suggesting he should have intervened to help Kate.
Brown’s manager has now confirmed to Regalrumination.com it was a reference to a past joke by Dame Edna Everage, a famous character performed by Australian comedian Barry Humphries.
“It was a reference to a Dame Edna joke, which is why Derren added a #DameEdna tag at the end,” Brown’s manager said. “She made the joke in an interview years ago about the Queen handing her a note in a royal line-up.
“Derren had a completely delightful experience saying hello to the Prince & Princess of Wales, he felt they have a remarkable ability to make people feel very comfortable. It was Derren’s first time meeting the royal couple and he was charmed along with the whole room.”
One conspiracy post was viewed 1.2 million times and liked 6.4k times and read: “Kate Middleton before she completely vanished allegedly passed Darren [sic] Brown a piece of paper saying “HELP” look at the date of this post.
“@DerrenBrown has 2million followers I’m sure he didn’t make it up.”
Another, also viewed 1.2 million times and liked 6k times, read: “Two weeks before was last seen, Derren Brown tweeted that when he met Kate at the Royal Variety, she ‘pressed a tiny piece of folded paper onto my palm’ with the word ‘HELP’ written inside. This saga gets weirder with every passing day.”
Kate had abdominal surgery on January 16, around a month after Royal Variety was broadcast, and canceled public visits while she recovered.
February and March saw a major social media trend for speculating about the princess’ absence from the limelight, as her last public appearance had been on Christmas Day.
This died down after she announced on March 22 that she had been diagnosed with cancer after the operation.
Kensington Palace also issued an appeal to avoid speculating about Kate, in order that she can recover in peace, free from pressure to return to work: “Their Royal Highnesses understand the interest this update will generate and are grateful for the public support they have received throughout this period.
“Kensington Palace will provide information, when the time is right, and The Princess is able to restart work and her duties. In the meantime, we would ask that the family’s privacy is respected.”
The palace’s appeal for calm has so far mostly worked though some signs are beginning to emerge of heightened attention on her absence.
These have included speculating on when she might start work again.
Brown’s post had been edited at the time but only to tag his magic show, Unbelievable, and insert the line “Both were very lovely and terrific at the meet & greet.”
At the time, he would no doubt have assumed the joke would be interpreted in the spirit it was intended as the viral frenzy around Kate was still months away.
Needless to say, the sheer volume of views on just two out of many Tweets on the subject may be a cause for concern for Kensington Palace, whose task it is to manage public reaction to Kate.
Jack Royston is chief royal correspondent for Regalrumination.com, based in London. You can find him on X (formerly ) at and read his stories on Regalrumination.com‘s
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