Timeline of royal family's photo drama as Kate confesses to editing portrait
Kate Middleton has apologised for 'any confusion' after the Royal Family's new official portrait sparked speculation.
The Princess of Wales made headlines on Sunday after social media detectives spotted numerous signs the royal's official Mother's Day portrait had been 'manipulated'. Some of the world's largest news picture agencies pulled the royals up on their alleged editing before Kate squashed the rumours this morning.
The photograph shows Kate, 42, with her kids, Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, eight, and Prince Louis, five, smiling at the camera. The 'amateur family photograph' was taken by Prince William in an informal setting. As Kate holds her hands up to tweaking the image, the Mirror takes a look at the last 24 hours...
Kensington Palace shared an informal, happy snap of the Wales family on social media (PA)
Eagle-eyed social media users spotted parts of the image appeared edited (PA)Kate breaks cover
Kensington Palace posted a sweet Mother's Day photo of the Princess of Wales with her three children on their official social media platforms on Sunday, March 10. A message, which appeared to be written and signed off by Kate herself, said: "Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the last two months. Wishing everyone a Happy Mother's Day. C".
It was the first official photo of Kate since she had abdominal surgery earlier this year. The future Queen had last been pictured in public during a Christmas Day walk in Sandringham, Norfolk.
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Editing rumours
Soon after the photo was posted across William and Kate's social channels, eagle-eyed viewers identified several 'errors' in the picture and raised concerns about Kate's whereabouts. Princess Charlotte's knee appeared 'blurry' and the wrist and sleeve of her jumped looked to have been artificially manipulated.
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.
Portrait photographer Martin Bamford posted the image on X, formerly Twitter, and said: "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."
The Associated Press issued a 'kill notice' for the Royal Family's photograph on Sunday (AP)'Kill notice' issued
A 'kill notice' was issued to media organisations across the world by the Press Association (PA), Associated Press (AP), Reuters, Agence France-Presse (AFP) and Getty Images, which all confirmed they had pulled the image from their libraries. A notice from the Associated Press read: "At closer inspection it appears that the source has manipulated the image."
AP also referred to an "inconsistency in the alignment of Princess Charlotte's left hand". A 'kill notification' is an industry term used to retract a photo previously handed out to publications. While AP said there was no suggestion the photo was fake, it said the source had manipulated the image in a way that did not meet the agency's photo standards.
Palace stays silent
The Palace appeared to ignore the editing rumours and stayed silent as it issued a post to celebrate Commonwealth Day on the Royal Family's official X account. It read: "Today is Commonwealth Day – the annual celebration of this unique and diverse organisation. 2024 marks 75 years since the founding of the modern Commonwealth." The Palace told the Mirror it did not wish to comment further on the matter.
Peter Hunt, a royal commentator, remarked: "This is bad for the royals. They knew there would be a lot of attention in any pictures they released of Kate. Their concern is that people will now wonder if they can be trusted and believed when they provide the next health report."
Kate admits to fault
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"
Meanwhile a palace source added: "The Princess has shared a statement on social media. This was an amateur, family photograph taken by the Prince of Wales. Their royal highnesses wanted to offer an informal picture of the family together for Mother's Day. The Princess made minor adjustments as she shared in her statement on social media. The Wales family spent Mother's Day together and had a wonderful day."
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