Top news agencies have pulled a photo of Princess Kate Middleton with her children, supposedly taken by Prince Williams and shared on official palace social media accounts, over claims that it had been manipulated.
The Associated Press said in a statement that the photo issued by Kensington Palace was retracted because it appeared to have been “manipulated.”
“While there was no suggestion the photo was fake, AP retracted it because closer inspection revealed the source had manipulated the image in a way that did not meet AP’s photo standards,” the news agency reported.
Middleton is seen sitting in a chair surrounded by her children, Prince George, Prince Louis, and Princess Charlotte, in the photo released to celebrate Mother’s Day in the U.K.
“Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the last two months. Wishing everyone a Happy Mother’s Day,” the caption read, signed with a “C” for Catherine, Princess of Wales.
Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the last two months.
Wishing everyone a Happy Mother’s Day. C
The Prince of Wales, 2024 pic.twitter.com/6DywGBpLLQ
— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) March 10, 2024
AP issued what is known as a “photo kill,” an industry term that retracted the image and instructed clients to remove the photo from their systems — the image above tweeted from the official Prince and Princess of Wales X account remains up and had been viewed by 67.7 million people as of this writing.
“At closer inspection it appears that the source has manipulated the image. No replacement photo will be sent,” the news agency said in its advisory.
Reuters and Getty also pulled the photo from their sites, according to the Daily Mail.
Here’s more from the British tabloid:
From Prince Louis’ hands to clothing patterns and lines not matching up, eagle-eyed members of the public pointed out a litany of what they believed to be suspicious issues with the photo.
The most common ‘editing errors’ found by social media sleuths were Kate’s absent wedding ring, Charlotte’s blurred skirt and her partially missing sleeve and Kate’s misaligned zip.
Rumors about Middleton’s health have been swirling since it was announced in January that she had been hospitalized and underwent abdominal surgery. She is not expected to resume public duties until Easter.
“This is damaging for the royals. They knew there would be intense interest in any picture they released of Kate,” royal commentator Peter Hunt told the Daily Mail. “Their challenge is that people will now question whether they can be trusted and believed when they next issue a health update.”
Social media users were all over the so-called conspiracy… here’s a quick sampling of responses to the story, as seen on X:
Wonder if they did this on purpose just to have a giggle at the conspiracy theorists pic.twitter.com/GxE2cKtyTy
— Amanda Blick (@amanblick) March 10, 2024
Perhaps the Royal Family wanted to play … Spot the error instead of Spot the difference
— Nick B Ⓥ (@nick2times) March 11, 2024
I am a photographer and can say that many professional family photos are edited like this one has been. Face,
hand, and other swaps are common, especially when wiggly kids are involved. It is likely just routine editing and nothing more.— Sara Srinivasan (@saracole) March 11, 2024
I LOVE this game.
Give us the next clue pic.twitter.com/31MdzqGO5T— (@ElMiticoBarbas) March 10, 2024
I AM DESPERATE TO KNOW WHAT IS GOING ON!!
— Hazel Appleyard (@HazelAppleyard_) March 10, 2024
ME: I don’t believe in conspiracy theories
TWITTER: She’s missing a wedding ring. Her right hand is blurry. The daughter’s wrist is photoshopped.
ME: https://t.co/Rhbldssq4c pic.twitter.com/TyjXZNPlJ5
— Mike (@michaelcollado) March 10, 2024
Me wondering;
– when this was taken?
– why a (bad) photoshop job was need on Charlotte’s left cuff/wrist?
– what’s Louis doing with his fingers?
– why Kate’s not wearing a wedding ring? https://t.co/mpOKaeMecu pic.twitter.com/mSnqXnwEsT— Patrick G (@PatrickGDE3) March 10, 2024
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Author: Tom Tillison
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