Since it was revealed by photography experts that the photo Kate Middleton shared on Mother’s Day was manipulated, she’s been in hot water.
The photo in question featured the princess posing on the patio with Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis surround her. They are all smiling and look absolutely adorable.
“Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the last two months. Wishing everyone a Happy Mother’s Day,” the caption on the Prince and Princess of Wales’ official Instagram account read. It was signed “C,” meaning Kate herself had written it.
As expected, the photo was shared worldwide and was picked up but every single media outlet out there.
The comments under the photo came pouring in with a great number of people wishing Kate a speedy recovery.
According to some royal experts, Kate opted to post a photo in order to put a stop to the speculations surrounding her surgery and her recovery.
“They [Kensington Palace] are trying to send a clear message to both the public and the press to respect Kate’s privacy on this medical matter,” royal historian Kate Williams said. “What they’re trying to say is Kate is recovering, she’s fine, no more worries, no more panic, no more speculation.”
She added: “I think the last thing they [Kensington Palace] want is for her to feel she can’t go out and walk in case she’s going to be photographed.”
Shortly after the photo of the happy family was released, some started questioning its authenticity because as they claimed, the photo was obviously edited.
“Professional photographer here. Look closely at Princess Charlotte’s wrist. This is what happens when you composite layers in Photoshop. I’m not speculating on why the photo was edited like this, but it’s weird,” portrait photographer Martin Bamford wrote on X.
This led The Associated Press, Reuters, Getty Images, and Agence France-Press to issue “kill notices,” which are advisory notices to remove or not use a specific photo.
“It appears that the source has manipulated the image,” the Associated Press notification read.
They also released a statement, saying, “The Associated Press initially published the photo, which was issued by Kensington Palace. The AP later retracted the image because at closer inspection, it appears that the source had manipulated the image in a way that did not meet AP’s photo standards. The photo shows an inconsistency in the alignment of Princess Charlotte’s left hand.”
Kate posted on X that she was the one who edited the photo, and royal experts say the Palace letting her take the blame means throwing her under the bus.
“I’m just so sad and sort of frustrated about the whole thing because I feel so sorry for Catherine,” royal expert and author Richard Eden said. “Essentially, she’s been under so much pressure from people saying ‘We want a photo, we want to know how she is, tell us how she is.’ And she finally issues this photograph, it’s taken by Prince William.. They make that clear when they issue the photograph.”
According to him, they treated Kate disgracefully.
“The officials made it public. They gave it out, it’s their job. I think it’s absolutely disgraceful that they’ve said to her ‘you go and explain what you did’. No, it’s your job. Take some responsibility,” Eden added.
“It wouldn’t surprise me if heads do roll over this, if not now… then eventually. Heads could roll, heads have rolled for lesser offences I’ve seen over the years.”
This issue made the media question the authenticity of the photographs shared by the Palace over the years.
“In editorial photography, photojournalists and editors commonly adjust a photograph’s exposure or color balance in order to more accurately reflect the scene. Most news organizations, including CNN, regard it as unacceptable to move, change or manipulate the pixels of an image. To do so would alter the reality of the situation the image is intended to document,” CNN announced.
Some even reviewed the photographs of Harry and Meghan, claiming the photographs of the pregnancy announcement taken by Misan Harriman was also altered.
Harriman, however, shared the original colorized shot of the Sussexes, saying he expected a “full apology and retraction” from the Daily Mail and the Telegraph for their allegations.
Following Kate’s surgery, it was reported that Harry and Meghan reached out to her and showed their support. They also contacted King Charles, but they didn’t make any public comments regarding the health condition of neither of them.
But now, when Harriman re-shared their photo from 2021, a source told Page Six, “This isn’t a mistake Meghan would ever make; she has a keen eye and freakish attention to detail.”
The source suggested that “if Harry and Meghan had ever encountered the same issue, they would have been annihilated” and added: “The same rules do not apply to both couples.”
However, after this was published, Harry and Meghan decide to react as quickly as possible.
“With respect to Page Six, that did not come from us,” a spokesperson from the couple’s Archewell Foundation told Newsweek.
Although the Duke and Duchess of Sussex remain silent, many believe they are partially to be blamed for the fuss around Kate because when they stepped down from their royal duties they shared plenty of things about the royal family and now the public expects from the rest of the members of the Firm to do the same as though it is something normal to expose their private lives to the media.
Many royal experts, among which Jennie Bond, believe that Kate should not be pressured to the extend she is during the past couple of months.
“The pressure has doubled and redoubled. I think she’s in a fragile mental and physical state. We should lay off her,” Bond told GB News.
“I do think we are in danger of bulling a lady who is trying to recover from a very serious operation. I think of how she must be feeling this morning. Absolutely miserable. I think her Mother’s Day was obviously ruined by this row.”
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