Princess Kate should not release the unedited Mother’s Day photo - poll results

13 March 2024 , 15:13

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Around 60% of readers said Kate shouldn't release the unedited picture (Image: PA)

The Princess of Wales has been urged to release an unedited version of the Mother's Day picture - but Mirror readers have branded this request "nonsense".

This comes just days after Kate apologised for modifying the family photo, which showed the senior royal sitting in a chair alongside Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis, and Prince George, as all four smile at the camera.

Taking to X, she wrote: "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."

A palace source later confirmed that Kate had made "minor adjustments", adding: "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."

Concerns emerged after sharp-eyed viewers spotted a misaligned edge of Charlotte's sleeve, speculation over the positioning of Kate's zip, and misshapen patterns on both George’s and Louis’s jumpers. The photograph was also removed by several of the world's biggest international photo agencies, including Associated Press (AP), Reuters, Agence France-Presse (AFP) and Getty Images.

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In order to smooth over the situation, royal expert and historian Dr Tessa Dunlop believes releasing the original unedited photo is the only move the royals can make. She questioned: "If the Princess only indulged in a bit of light editing, why on earth doesn't the palace release the original photograph?"

Tessa added: "This has blown up into a major media storm because people feel the royal family – who also double up as an institution of state – are not being honest with them. And if you can't trust Kensington Palace, then who can you trust? To make this go away the Palace need to release the original picture. The integrity of our future King and Queen is at stake."

Public relations and crisis consultant Mark Borkowski backed this up, saying: "It’s plausible she’s at home playing with the computer and using an AI tool, but if they’re really going to regain any sort of trust they should release the unedited photo, it can’t be that bad if they just made a few tweaks."

We asked Mirror readers if they think the Princess of Wales should release the unedited version of the photo, and a hefty 61 percent have said it is unnecessary. A staggering 1,368 people took part in our poll, and around 837 selected the option 'No.'

Some voters took to the comments section to voice their thoughts, as one user penned: "No reason for Kate to apologise, she has done nothing wrong. What an earth has happened to society today. It truly begs belief. Hold your ground Kate. You do a great job. Hope you are back on the frontline soon. Best wishes."

Another shared: "Why should the Princess do that let alone apologise just for editing a sentimental photo taken by the future king? I’m just glad to have seen a photo of them all smiling, edited or not, it’s a Mother’s Day photo."

A third added: "If they manipulated a photograph to make it appear that the Princess was well and enjoying time with her children, good for them. Why should she be pressured into acting like a 'performing seal' and showing herself before she is ready? Shame on the 'photo agencies' who have suddenly found a 'moral compass' and determined 'not to use edited photos'."

While a fourth expressed: "So she might have adjusted a hand or the sweater, but is this earth shattering. Most of us do the same thing with our photos to make them look better."

"Disagree. This is all nonsense. Much better to embarrass the numpties that thought it was a good idea to pick on William and Kate, who were just doing what ordinary people have been doing for years," vented a fifth.

Meanwhile, 33 percent have said the Firm should release the original version of the picture, as one person voiced: "It is tricky, but releasing the original would go a long way to maintaining credibility, which has suffered lately. If it shows blemishes it would be far more 'just like the rest of us' than an admission that we all use photoshop."

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A second added: "Absolutely, yes they should release it. Kate's head is not in proportion to her torso, her torso is not in proportion to her legs. The head is too big for the torso and the legs are too small for the torso. Before this row is even identified my first impression on the picture was it doesn't look real."

Another posted: "So losing integrity giving these pictures to the national news media and the world news media is the real huge problem here. If the RF and the palace want fake and altered photos on their accounts and personal accounts and palace accounts well that's their business. They have to take the heat from the public because some people aren't gonna like it."

Only six percent selected the poll option 'Other'.

Please note that the poll is still live, so these results may change after the article has been published.

You can still vote in the poll HERE to have your say on the topic. Do you think the Royal Family release the unedited Mother's Day photo? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

Freya Hodgson