That Kate Middleton Photo Backfired Spectacularly
Ever since conspiracy theories about Kate Middleton’s health tipped into BBL territory, the Palace has been scrambling to demonstrate that she’s doing okay. This weekend, another ill-fated attempt went down the drain.
On Sunday morning, a photo ostensibly celebrating the U.K.’s Mother’s Day appeared on the Prince and Princess of Wales’ official Instagram account, showing Kate sitting on a patio surrounded by her three children. “Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the last two months,” it read. “Wishing everyone a Happy Mother’s Day.” The caption appeared to credit the photo to William, reading “???? The Prince of Wales, 2024.”
Signed “C,” the image was widely reported to be the first officially released photo of Kate since her “planned abdominal surgery” in January. (She was briefly spotted in a car near Windsor Castle earlier this month.) That is, until a handful of news agencies, including the Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, EPA, Getty, and Reuters withdrew it, citing evidence that suggested it had been altered. Reuters and the Associated Press reportedly pointed to an area where Prince Charlotte’s hand seems not to line up with her sweater sleeve, and CNN also cited a detail on Kate’s jacket zipper. Agence France-Presse’s photo director, who called the doctoring “very amateur-ish,” told the Independent that Charlotte’s skirt was misaligned and her hair seemed doctored; Kate’s face, sweater, and hair looked off; and Prince Louis and George’s sweaters both showed signs of alterations.
Online, people have speculated that the positioning of Louis’s fingers is too weird to be real and questioned why Kate’s wedding ring isn’t on her finger. Others noticed bizarre angles in the step behind the family.
#KateMiddleton photoshop mistakes. pic.twitter.com/FclHnHZbsE
— Shao Trommashere (@MedicTrommasher) March 10, 2024
No comment from Kensington Palace tonight after at least 3 international pictures agencies refuse to distribute this morning’s photo of Kate and her children. Some of them (@AP ) have claimed “the source [the palace] has manipulated the image”. pic.twitter.com/ppOwDtPr9P
— Chris Ship (@chrisshipitv) March 10, 2024
Early Monday morning, the Palace appeared to have engineered an explanation. A message on Kate and William’s official Twitter account purporting to be from Kate said, “Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing. I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused. I hope everyone celebrating had a very happy Mother’s Day” This post was also signed “C.” It seems someone at Buckingham expects us all to believe the Princess of Wales is sitting around Photoshopping her own pictures and apologizing on Twitter while she recovers from surgery.
Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing. I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused. I hope everyone celebrating had a very happy Mother’s Day. C
— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) March 11, 2024
On Monday, Kate was seen leaving Windsor Castle in a car with William, who’s scheduled to appear solo at a Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey. Perhaps someone on Celebrity Big Brother knows where she’s headed?
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