The first photo of Catherine, Princess of Wales, and her children since her abdominal surgery, which attracted great public interest, is apparently manipulated. This means that the image, which was apparently intended as a liberating move after weeks of speculation about the health of the wife of the heir to the British throne, could now turn into a PR disaster.
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Kensington Palace published the picture on the short message service X on Sunday, and several news agencies then spread it further. The Associated Press news agency was first to point out on Sunday evening that a closer inspection of the image revealed an inconsistency on Kate’s daughter’s hand. There are now indications of more.
Because the alleged manipulation of the photo was not compatible with AP’s guidelines for photos, the news agency withdrew the image, it said. The Reuters news agency argued similarly and also withdrew the photo.
The photo was published after weeks of speculation about the princess’ health. summarizes AP. She was in the hospital for almost two weeks due to abdominal surgery in January and was last seen in public at Christmas.
In the picture, Kate can be seen sitting on a garden chair on a veranda surrounded by her children. She placed her feet crossed on the floor in front of her. Her arms are wrapped around the waist of her two younger children, Charlotte and Louis. Her eldest son Prince George can be seen behind Kate. Kate smiles, the children seem exuberant. The discrepancy can be found on Charlotte’s arm, where the picture was visibly reworked.
The photo was captioned, “Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the past two months. Wish everyone a happy Mother’s Day.” Mother’s Day was celebrated in Great Britain on Sunday. The accompanying text was allegedly written by Kate herself, and the photo was allegedly taken by her husband – Prince William. The alleged manipulations are sometimes a top topic in the British tabloid media, even though the Academy Awards were also presented that night.
Update March 11, 2024, 1:06 p.m
The Princess of Wales has now apparently taken responsibility for the image editing on the family’s official X account. “Like many amateur photographers, I occasionally experiment with image editing. I apologize for any confusion caused by our family photo shared yesterday,” reads one signed “C.” Posting on X (formerly Twitter) from Monday lunchtime.
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