Inside Meghan and Harry Photoshop saga as Kate isn't first royal hit with claims

12 March 2024 , 10:18

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Harry and Meghan were previously accused of Photoshopping one of their family photos (Image: Getty Images/PA)

The furore surrounding Princess Kate's Mother's Day photo reached new heights on Monday. But she is not the first royal to be embroiled in a Photoshop controversy.

When William and Kate released the now-infamous image showing the Princess with their three children, it was no doubt meant to reassure fans, and put to bed some of the wild conspiracy theories floating around online.

Instead, it set in motion an extraordinary 36 hours for the royal family, culminating in a personal apology from Kate, who admitted to 'experimented with editing' before sharing the image with the public.

She is by no means the only one caught up in a social media storm as a result of a photograph - Meghan Markle and Prince Harry also came under scrutiny with their 2019 Christmas card.

The Princess has apologised for the confusion surrounding the Mother's Day photo (PA)

Harry and Meghan were accused of Photoshopping their 2019 Christmas card - until Janina Gavankar set the record straight (PA)

The black and white image shared by the couple showed baby Archie crawling towards the camera, with Meghan and Harry slightly out of focus sitting behind their son on either side, and smiling.

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Before long, social media was abuzz with claims that the image had been Photoshopped, with people alleging that Meghan's face appears much sharper than her husband's.

"Check out Meghan's face, it is Photoshopped. Her face is clear and everything else is blurred. Archie's is also photo shopped," one person alleged. A second wrote: "This is quite possibly the worst Photoshopped picture I have ever seen. And again with the black and white."

However, those claims were quickly shut down by the photographer behind the image, Janina Gavankar. She strongly denied it had been edited and went on to share the original image on her Instagram by way of proof.

She wrote: "Proud to have taken the Christmas photo for one of my best friends and her family. Here's the original that was sent out (cropped to fit IG)....and to The Mail, I see your campaign against my friend continues. Nice photoshop of my non-photoshopped image. Now may we all get back to the spirit of Christmas and not the spirit of maliciousness."

Princess Kate, meanwhile, is said to be "very sad" that what was meant to be a happy family photo to celebrate Mother's Day had caused such an international fiasco.

She has been subjected to heavy social media criticism - and a friend said she the future Queen "would likely be upset by the furore caused by what was supposed to be an innocent family photograph," the Sun reports.

Gemma Strong