
Russian President Vladimir Putin has dismissed conspiracy theories about using a body double for security reasons.
Fearing assassination by armed Islamist groups during the Chechnya conflict, the use of a political decoy was discussed. But, Putin said no.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was captured chin-wagging with what appeared to be his body doubles in bizarre footage which has resurfaced amid rumours that he had died.
The dictator was filmed chatting away with the two suspected lookalikes - dressed identically in his trademark black pinstripe suit and Cuban heels.
He is believed to often travel with lookalikes to ward off possible assassination attempts.

Ella Slack from the Isle of Man has spent 30 years being a stand-in for the Queen during rehearsals for televised royal engagements.

If you turn the pages of Russia's secret history, you will find stories about Joseph Stalin's body doubles
The USSR leader was infamous for his mastery of propaganda but more concerned about being assassinated by "capitalists".
One body double, known only as Rashid, was recruited by a KGB agent to attend meetings as Joseph Stalin.
But, very little is known about another of Stalin's supposed doubles, Felix Dadaev.

Photographs from several public appearances showed that the late Iraqi dictator had used at least three men as body doubles.
Hussein’s oldest son, Uday Hussein, may have used a body double as well.

A photo of US First Lady Melania Trump looking relaxed and smiling on board Marine One has added fuel to a wild conspiracy theory. Adherents say President Donald Trump must be campaigning alongside his wife’s body double.
The theory that the White House uses an impersonator in place of the real Melania Trump has been around since at least 2017. A picture of the US presidential couple taken on Sunday poured some gasoline on the conspiratorial fire.

Adolf Hitler

Hollywood actor ME Clifton James was a soldier in the first world war. But, by the time of the second world war, he had become an actor.
Following a newspaper article on his resemblance to British field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, Clifton James was asked to be the body double
This allowed field marshal Montgomery to be in two places at the same time - a tactic that helped fox the Germans during the war