Princess Kate’s photo glitch
Palast tries to catch the faux pas
Princess Kate is not expected to do any appointments until at least Easter. After her manipulated Mother’s Day photo, she still dominates the headlines in Great Britain.
© Chris Brunt/Shutterstock.com
Can the PR disaster surrounding Princess Kate’s photo faux pas still be saved? The palace seems to be relying on several strategies.
The edited photo of Princess Kate (42) and her three children for British Mother’s Day continues to make waves. The happy family snapshot was actually supposed to show that the wife of heir to the throne Prince William (41) is feeling better again after her abdominal operation in mid-January. But when it turned out that the photo had been edited, it had exactly the opposite effect and even further ignited the rumor mill. In addition, the credibility of the Royal Family is at stake. A PR disaster that the palace is now trying to contain. Kate’s public apology was probably just the beginning.
Did Kate just want to make her children look good?
There are no further official statements – but a striking number of sources from the royal family’s environment suddenly speak out, stepping into the breach for the future queen amid the storm of criticism on social networks and media worldwide. As “The Sun” reported, citing a friend, Kate was “very sad” that the family photo had caused such a worldwide stir. She just wanted the picture to be “perfect”. She only edited one image “somewhat”, but did not edit different photos together, as she was accused of doing. The newspaper also quotes the palace as saying that the family spent Mother’s Day together “and had a wonderful day.”
An insider also reported in the British newspaper “The Times” that Kate was feeling “terrible”. She tried to “make it as good as possible” and “thought of her own children when editing the picture.” She tried to make George (10), Charlotte (8) and Louis (5) look as good as possible. And the Daily Mail quoted royal sources, according to which Kate only made “minor adjustments” to the images. The newspaper also provided some details about how the photo was taken: William took the picture on Friday “in a 40-minute window,” making it a current picture. Staff at Kensington Palace spent weeks planning a photo to dispel rumors about Kate’s health following her abdominal surgery in January. Kate and William themselves campaigned for an “informal family snapshot”.
Royal Family sends signals during appointments
The photo of Kate and her children was the first on Sunday (March 10) since the princess’s abdominal surgery on the Instagram page of the heir to the throne couple has been published. But a few hours later it was withdrawn by several photo agencies on suspicion of manipulation. However, it can still be seen on the Instagram account. Following the uproar, Kensington Palace released a statement from Kate on March 11 in which the princess apologized for the “confusion” and admitted: “Like many amateur photographers, I occasionally experiment with editing.” However, the statement caused a new stir and questions as to whether the princess herself – despite a PR team – was really responsible for such an important picture and whether the statement was even written by her.
The Royal Family is now countering this with good-mood performances. On Monday, William and Queen Camilla (76) attended on behalf of King Charles III. (75) at the service for Commonwealth Day in Westminster Abbey. Both chatted and laughed, as can be seen on the family’s Instagram pages. Signal: There is no sign of problems or crises, the royal family continues to work as usual. The king, who was suffering from cancer, also showed up for the occasion. He sent a video message thanking everyone for the “extremely kind and thoughtful wishes for my health.”
In the evening, William also attended an event organized by the environmental competition Earthshotprize, which he founded. This was also done shared an Instagram post, which shows him giving a speech on fighting climate change. He also didn’t notice the turmoil surrounding his wife.
Kate herself was also spotted on Monday, shortly after her apology: She left Windsor Castle in a car with William towards London. The paparazzi were only able to capture her from behind or from the side. Nevertheless, the princess sent the wordless signal that she was feeling so well again that she could accompany her husband to the capital. The royals may now prefer to stick to the motto of Queen Elizabeth II (1926-2022): “Never complain, never explain.”