LONDON – What if it was a worse patch than the hole? Princess Kate’s admission that she herself “altered” her first, highly anticipated and now controversial official photo after the mysterious abdominal surgery last January, has unleashed another tsunami of doubts and inferences. It is in fact very rare for a member of the Royal Family to expose himself so much, and on the front line, “confessing” to a sensational communication error, due to media pressure. Instead, the commandment of Elizabeth II it’s always been “never complain, never explain”. That is, “never complain” and above all “never explain”.
Furthermore, the Royal Family’s communication is sifted through their press offices, and every press release or public release is taken care of down to the smallest detail, let alone on social media, and this is also why Harry and Meghan fled to California. Is it therefore possible, as she seems to imply in her very rare tweet about “X”, that Catherine Middleton did it all alone? That is to say, she had the photo taken by her husband William, he edited it “in an amateur way” on his cell phone and then she even posted it personally on the social network, among other things in full recovery after the delicate operation that will keep her out at least until Easter, without having it stamped in advance by her communications bosses?
In short, many things still don’t add up. But let’s reread the princess’s message which increased the controversy even more. This morning, Kate took full responsibility, in an almost surreal message for the media sacrifice that these words impose on her person and reputation: “Like many other amateur photographers, I occasionally experiment with image editing,” revealed the princess, “I want to apologize for the confusion that our photo has generated of family shared yesterday online. I hope you all had a wonderful Mother’s Day.” Signed “C”: i.e. Catherine.
“Repubblica” learns that William and Kate were keen on an informal photo for Mother’s Day, which was celebrated in England yesterday 10 March. And that the couple, together with their children, spent a wonderful day together.
So question closed? Nope. Because when asked to release the original photo then, Kensington Palace has so far responded in spades. How come? The reason is unclear. In this absolute uncertainty, the morbid conspiracy theories about Kate have exploded again and his health. While on social media there is a hunt for the suspicious detail of the photo. The Daily Mail has already collected a total of 16 “bizarre” details discovered by online users: in addition to the transparent arm of the second daughter Charlotte, the crooked fingers of her little brother Louis and the lack of a wedding ring or engagement ring for the Princess of Wales which already emerged yesterday, now fans and obsessives have discovered other oddities, such as Charlotte’s stubbed hair on her shoulder, the zip on Kate’s sweatshirt that doesn’t match the other side, the crooked table, etc. Indeed, someone dug up the photo of William, Kate and their children from last Christmas, noticing that Louis appears to be missing the middle finger on his right hand.
In short, a communication disaster. The former royal commentator of the Bbc, Peter Hunt, said: “This affair is damaging the Royal Family. They knew well that there was gigantic interest in the first official photograph of the Princess of Wales. Now they will have to prove that they can be believed in the future and also in updates on Catherine’s health.” While the famous English journalist Piers Morgan urged the “Firm” to immediately publish the original photo, to stem conspiracies and speculation that are now out of control.
After all, ignoring Elizabeth’s maxim – “never explain” – has never proved to be a good idea for the Royal Family. The latest media catastrophein this sense, was Prince Andrew’s interview with Bbc of 2019: the Duke of York thus thought he would close the story of his involvement in the Epstein sex scandal forever. Instead it tarnished his position and reputation, probably forever. This afternoon, Kensington Palace tried to rehabilitate itself by publishing a photo – this time it seems without modifications – of Kate in the car with William, at least to reassure about the princess’s health. But regaining solid credibility in the coming months will be a challenge.