12 March 2024 , 14:03
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The kill order issued by news agencies on a photo of Kate, which was suspected of "manipulation", is likely the first of its kind that had been sent out about a royal photo, an expert has said.
The image, which featured the Princess of Wales and her three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis, created a storm of controversy when it was recalled by news agencies, leaving Kensington Palace no choice but to release a personal message from Kate, who took responsibility for the edited image and apologised for any "confusion" caused by it.
This followed weeks of speculation about the status of Kate's health and her exact whereabouts after one of the most highly photographed women in the world disappeared from public view to recover privately from abdominal surgery. She is due to return to royal duties after Easter.
Chris Ship, royal editor for ITV, appearing on the What You Need To Know podcast, was asked whether this kind of kill order had ever been sent out previously regarding a photograph supplied by the royals, and he replied: "Not to my knowledge, and if it were to have happened I think we probably would have known about it.
"You've got Reuters, AP, and AFP all saying 'kill this photo'," the expert continued, "One said they had concerns about it being manipulated, another said there were some 'editorial concerns in post-production'."
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The Press Association also pulled the picture, as did Getty Images, with the PA saying in a statement : "Like other news agencies, PA Media issued the handout image provided by Kensington Palace of the Princess of Wales and her children in good faith yesterday.
"We became aware of concerns about the image and we carried a report about it last night, and made clear that we were seeking urgent clarification about the image from Kensington Palace. In the absence of that clarification, we are killing the image from our picture service."
The image released contained a myriad of obvious errors in the edit, that social media users quickly spotted before the news agencies pulled the image from their services. Whilst there have been calls from experts and the public alike for Kensington Palace to release the unedited image, they haven't yet do so, leaving speculation and conspiracies about the Princess of Wales' health growing in some corners of the internet ever more intense.
Equally, US news organisation CNN has said that they are now examining all other photographs that have been issued by the royals, so whilst Ship may be correct that this was the first kill order issued on a royal photo, it may not be the last.
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