14 March 2024 , 14:17
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Award winning photographer Rankin, who has taken portraits of the late Queen and King Charles, believes he knows why Kate Middleton edited her controversial Mother’s Day image.
Kate Middleton’s image of herself and her three children that she released in celebration of Mother’s Day caused a furore when it became apparent the photo had been edited. Respected picture agencies issued a ‘kill’ order on the photograph and withdrew it over concerns it had been manipulated.
The Princess then released a statement apologising for "any confusion" and admitting that she had used Photoshop to alter certain aspects of the picture and said: "Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment."
There were many points of contention within the snap that eagle-eyed royal fans on social media spotted, including the sleeve of Princess Charlotte's arm not lining up and Prince George's right hand being out of focus. Portrait photographer Martin Bamford posted the image on X, writing: "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 now notorious Mother's Day picture with the suspected edits (KENSINGTON PALACE/AFP via Getty)Respected celebrity photographer Rankin, who shot a stunning portrait of the late Queen Elizabeth II in 2001 to mark her Golden Jubilee, thinks the fuss over Kate’s photo is totally uncalled for. He spoke to the Daily Mail’s Richard Eden and shared his anger over the furore. "Give her a f***ing break," he raged. "She was in hospital two months ago." He doesn’t think she should have had to apologise as the image was a personal one and he puts the reaction down to the nation thinking we "own" Kate.
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He also offered an explanation as to why he believes she made the edits to the happy picture, that was taken by Prince William and says it’s all down to the difficulty of photographing children, especially when there’s more than one. Kate and William’s children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis all feature in the photo with beautiful beaming smiles.
"From my personal perspective, it looked like they just put pictures together, because when you get kids, it's very hard, they move around a lot," he said. "When you're shooting kids, you have to make it fun for them, you have to engage them and you have to make it fast. If you're not a professional, you don't do any of that."
The last time Kate was officially pictured on Christmas Day last year (Samir Hussein/WireImage)The reaction to Kate’s picture came after intense speculation about where the Princess was. She has been recovering at home after "planned abdominal surgery" but after wild conspiracy theories over her health and marriage spiralled out of control, Kensington Palace issued a rare statement.
A Palace spokesperson said at the time: "Kensington Palace made it clear in January the timelines of the princess’ recovery and we’d only be providing significant updates. That guidance stands." They did, however, add that Kate continues to do "well". She is not expected to return to Royal duties until after Easter and the Mother’s Day photo was the first official picture of the future Queen since Christmas Day.
Do you think Rankin is right and Kate needs to be given a break? Let us know in the comments below.