Every time royals 'edited' images as Kate Middleton admits to 'photoshop fail'

11 March 2024 , 10:57

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The Waleses' most recent official family photo was edited, Kate has confirmed (Image: PA)

Kate Middleton has held her hands up and admitted to editing her official Mother's Day portrait.

The Princess of Wales made headlines after social media detectives spotted numerous signs the royal's official Mothering Sunday portrait had been 'manipulated'. Some of the world's largest news picture agencies, including Reuters, AP, Getty and AFP, removed it last night and pulled the royals up on their alleged editing.

AP sent an alert requesting that the photo be 'killed' from their system, stating: "At closer inspection, it appears that the source has modified the image." After Kensington Palace came under 'increasing pressure' to address the controversy, Kate issued an apology to clear up 'any confusion' on Monday morning.

In a statement, Kate said: "Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing. I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused. I hope everyone celebrating had a very happy Mother's Day. C"

Every time royals 'edited' images as Kate Middleton admits to 'photoshop fail' eiqreidrrirtinv

Kate's missing wedding ring, Charlotte's blurry knee and her hair appeared edited (PA)

Every time royals 'edited' images as Kate Middleton admits to 'photoshop fail'

The fading of Charlotte's sleeve into the background looked like an error (PA)

It was the first official image of Kate since she had abdominal surgery in January and eagle-eyed viewers identified several 'errors' in the picture and raised concerns of her whereabouts. Princess Charlotte's knee appeared 'blurry' and the wrist and sleeve of her jumped looked to have been artificially manipulated.

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The corner of Charlotte's skirt, the heel of her right boot and the sudden stop of her hair on her shoulder all seemed to be faulty, according to viewers. Other commonly mentioned 'editing fails' include Kate's left hand's missing wedding ring, her other hand, the way her hair appeared 'blurred', and the way her jacket's zipper didn't line up.

One even said she had Photoshopped her neck and chin. Prince Louis appeared to be making an unusual action with his fingers, making one of his fingers appear shorter than the others in the picture. Prince George's forearm length, the paving and window panes behind the family all appeared to have been digitally altered too.

The Wales family's Christmas card photo last year left many questioning Louis' 'missing finger' (PA)

The shadow on the late Queen's hand in this snap of her in 2020 sparked rumours (PA)

But it's not the first time the Waleses' photos have come under scrutiny. Their Christmas portrait last December - which was a black and white snap of William and Kate with George, Charlotte and Louis - sparked rumours of an editing glitch. Social media users spotted Louis' hand had a 'missing finger'.

All five members of the Wales family adorned relaxed light shirts and denim in the snap taken by renowned portrait photographer Josh Shinner. William and Kate stood next to each other while George posed beside his mum, Charlotte sat on the chair in the middle and Louis stood beside her.

One fan wrote on X, formerly Twitter: "Gorgeous photo! What happened to Prince Louis' finger? It looks like it's missing." Another said: "Is Prince Louis missing a finger? What in the AI is going on." However, a royal source told Mail Online: "It's not photoshopped. It seems as if he just bent his finger over. He's certainly not lost a finger - don't worry about that!"

Back in 2020, a photograph of Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh was accused of being photoshopped. Buckingham Palace released the image to mark Prince Philip's 99th birthday and it showed the pair standing side by side in the grounds of Windsor Castle. But critics questioned if the photo had been digitally altered.

This image of the late Queen with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren was criticised as the 'sofa was spliced together' (PA)

It was the shadow on the Queen's had that appeared edited. Royal commentators Roberta Fiorito and Rachel Bowie discussed the topic on their Royally Obsessed podcast. Rachel said: "I saw a bit was coming up about the birthday photo but I just can't imagine that would have happened. I feel like they know they would get caught, right?"

And in April 2023, a heartwarming photo of the late Queen with some of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, taken by the Princess of Wales at Balmoral Castle, also appeared to have been altered. The former monarch posed with George, Charlotte, Louis along with Mike and Zara Tindall's children as well as Lady Louise Windsor and James, the Earl of Wessex.

Tech CEO Christopher Bouzy sparked backlash for claiming it had been edited. He took to Twitter to say: "Yes, they Photoshopped it, and so what? It isn't easy to get the perfect photo with 10 children. It appears they took multiple shots and then edited the photo to make it perfect. I would've done the same."

He later wrote: "You can literally see where two sides of the sofa were spliced together, and there are pixels on the face that were not properly edited. As I stated in my original tweet, I don't see anything wrong with it. But to claim it's not Photoshopped is false. It's been edited."