An official photo with her children was supposed to dispel rumors about Princess Kate’s health – but it quickly became clear that it had been edited. The excitement is great, the princess apologized.
There is likely to be great frustration in the palace. A photo for Mother’s Day in Great Britain that shows a radiantly beautiful Kate, Princess of Wales, surrounded by her children – this should remind the British and the world that the princess is doing well, even if she is currently not attending any public appointments .
Kate made her last public appearance at Christmas and there have been no official photos of her since then. That’s another reason why a publication was so important, but the positive effect yesterday didn’t last long. Just a few hours later there was news that several major photo agencies, including AP, AFP and Reuters, were withdrawing the image because there was suspicion of manipulation. Kate’s daughter Charlotte’s sleeve is missing a piece, so the photo has been doctored – which in itself is not unusual, as Sunday Times royal expert Roya Nikkhah made clear on the BBC:
The fact that photos of the royals are being touched and edited again is really nothing new. The problem in this case could be that photo agencies have recently tightened their rules due to fears that photos could be AI-generated. However, there are no indications that AI was used here.
Photo is not a fake – just poorly edited
This means that there is currently no accusation that this photo is a fake. However, the development is still a serious setback for the palace. He wanted to use the picture to try to curb the wild speculation about Kate’s condition, which has been rampant in recent weeks, especially on social media.
Instead, this incident has only fueled speculation and conspiracy theories. Ian Lloyd, photographer and biographer of the royal family, points out that the royals have often had problems with modern technical possibilities:
Kensington Palace isn’t particularly good at editing photos. At Christmas there was a photo that Kate took for a Christmas card and it looked like Louis was missing a finger and someone else had an extra leg.
After the palace initially declined to comment on the current development, the Princess of Wales has since apologized for the confusion surrounding the Mother’s Day photo:
The princess admitted to occasionally experimenting with editing photos.
Imke Köhler, ARD London, tagesschau, March 11, 2024 12:27 p.m