Princess of Wales
Photo manipulated? Now Kate speaks up
Catherine, Princess of Wales, along with Prince Louis, Prince George and Princess Charlotte
© Kensington Palace/HRH The Prince of Wales
It was supposed to end the speculation about Catherine, Princess of Wales, but the opposite is now the case: the first photo of Kate after her operation causes anger – and forces the princess to make a public statement.
The first official photo of Catherine, Princess of Wales, 42, was recalled by some of the world’s biggest photo agencies – including AP, AFP, Getty Images and Reuters – following her abdominal surgery in January, according to British media reports. The reason: The image is said to have been manipulated.
Photo agencies stop the distribution of the image
The photo, which shows a beaming Kate, was released on Sunday, March 10, 2024, to mark Mother’s Day in the United Kingdom. It shows the Princess of Wales sitting on a chair surrounded by her three children Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, 5. It is the first official picture of Kate since Christmas.
However, the photo agencies later stopped distributing the image. Upon closer inspection, it appears that the image has been manipulated, according to the Telegraph. Discrepancies are said to have been found with Princess Charlotte’s left hand, her hair and her cardigan, among other things, as well as with Kate’s zipper. But there is no indication that the image “misrepresents Catherine or her children or that she is not as healthy as she appears to be,” the report continued.
On Monday morning, March 11, 2024, the British national news agency “PA Media” will also withdraw the photo from its image service. “Like other news outlets, PA Media published the image of the Princess of Wales and her children provided by Kensington Palace in good faith yesterday,” a spokesperson said, adding: “We reported on it last night and made it clear that we “To ask Kensington Palace for urgent clarification regarding the image. In the absence of such clarification, we have removed the image from our image service.”
Catherine, Princess of Wales responds to allegations
Meanwhile, the recording can still be seen on the Instagram account of Catherine, Princess of Wales, and Prince William, 41. “Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the last two months. I wish everyone a happy Mother’s Day,” the text reads. Kensington Palace said the picture was taken by William in Windsor earlier this week, according to British media. There was initially no response to the allegations that the photo was edited – until now. “Like many amateur photographers, I occasionally experiment with photo editing. I would like to apologize for the confusion caused by the family photo we shared yesterday. I hope everyone celebrating had a happy Mother’s Day. C,” it said on Monday morning in an official message from Catherine online.
Kate had surgery in January. The royal family did not disclose the reason for the procedure. Kensington Palace said it was not cancer and that Kate wanted her personal medical information to remain private, according to media reports. Speculation and conspiracy theories about the princess’ health have been making the rounds for weeks. Her return to the public is planned to be around Easter.
Sources used: telegraph.co.uk, twitter.com, instagram.com