 "A family portrait of Britain's late Queen Elizabeth II with some of her grandchildren and great grandchildren, taken at Balmoral Castle, Britain, in this undated handout image issued by Kensington Palace on 21 April 2023, with indications by Reuters of areas which appear to have been digitally altered by the source. Reuters")
The “Middleton Mess” of the British monarchy is unending.
Following her confession last week that she had altered a picture of herself with her kids, news agencies have started looking through Princess Kate’s collection of royal family images to find additional cases of photo tampering.
A second photo taken by Kate showing Queen Elizabeth II surrounded by her grandchildren and great-grandchildren was the subject of an editorial advisory posted by Getty Images on Monday. It stated that the photograph had been altered prior to its distribution by the palace.
Let’s take a closer look.
The altered family picture
In a statement, the news agency said that “in accordance with its editorial policy, it has placed an editor’s note on a handout image stating the image has been digitally enhanced at source.”
Photographed by Kate in August 2022 at Scotland’s Balmoral Castle, the image shows the Queen, who passed away in September 2022, flanked by ten grandchildren and great-grandchildren, as per The New York Times.
Standing at the back are her grandchildren, Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor and James, Earl of Wessex, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh’s children. In front of them are Lena Tindall, Mike and Zara Tindall’s daughter; Prince George and Princess Charlotte, the Prince and Princess of Wales’s two older children; Isla Phillips, Peter Phillips’s daughter; and Prince Louis, the Prince and Princess of Wales’s youngest child.
The Queen’s skirt, blanket, and the sofa she is sitting on are all out of alignment in the Balmoral picture. Princess Charlotte’s hair appears to have been cloned in certain places, and Prince Louis’ shoulder appears to be blurry and overlaps the background in other places. Additionally, the lighting in the image does not correspond with the illumination of any of the royal subjects.
Impact Shorts
View AllOn 21 April 2023, Buckingham Palace issued the photo to commemorate the queen’s 97th birthday, the NYT said.
In a statement to CNN, the company said, “Getty Images is undertaking a review of handout images and in accordance with its editorial policy is placing an editor’s note on images where the source has suggested they could be digitally enhanced.”
For the royal family, the criticism from Getty and others goes beyond simple humiliation.
The family uses agencies to get its photos into media outlets, much like many governments and organisations do all over the world.
However, these businesses have stringent policies that permit very little modification; the royals have positioned themselves as possible distributors of false information by covertly altering their images in several locations.
Getty, in particular, has a long history of strong ties to Kensington Palace. They frequently receive invitations to photograph royals and have sponsored royal functions, as per CNN.
Also read: From Kategate to Megxit: The many controversies of British royal family bahus
The Mother’s Day photo
In what is now being dubbed ‘Kategate’, the Mother’s Day image of Princess Kate and her children — George, Charlotte, and Louis, which was shot by her husband, Prince William, was intended to quell the flurry of conspiracy theories.
However, it sparked new rumours when the picture was pulled by Reuters, Getty, The Associated Press (AP), Agence France-Presse (AFP), and other outlets, claiming that it had been manipulated.
Kate, an enthusiastic amateur photographer, said last week that she has taken many candid photos of the royal family, occasionally editing the images.
She apologised on social media for the Mother’s Day picture, posting, “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.”
These pictures have been given to the press by Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace, where she and William work, and they frequently show up on the top pages of British newspapers.
Kate and William seen together
In response to the swirling rumours, the palace remained silent on a video that claimed to show Kate and William leaving a grocery store close to their Windsor, West London, residence on Monday.
In the footage, the Princess of Wales can be seen walking into a parking lot with William, who is sporting a baseball cap. Kate is dressed athletically. They are both carrying grocery bags.
British newspapers, The Daily Mail and The Sun, both posted stills of it on their front pages on Tuesday.
If verified, this video — shared by the American celebrity gossip outlet TMZ — would be the first to see Kate since she had to be taken to the hospital.
Previous reports from The Sun stated that Kate was spotted shopping on Saturday and watching her kids play sports on Sunday.
The princess was seen leaving Windsor Castle in her private vehicle earlier this month. On 11 March, Kensington Palace had previously told CNN that the princess was attending a private appointment.
Also read: Royal drama: The biggest scandals during Queen Elizabeth II’s reign
Kate’s absence from public view
The palace revealed on 17 January that the 42-year-old had had a planned abdominal surgery the day before. Before moving on to at-home recovery, she spent about two weeks in the hospital.
“Her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales was admitted to the hospital yesterday for planned abdominal surgery. The surgery was successful, and it is expected that she will remain in hospital for 10 to 14 days, before returning home to continue her recovery,” the statement read, according to People magazine.
On 29 January, the princess returned to Adelaide Cottage on the Windsor estate, where the palace said she would largely keep recovering until at least the end of March.
Although Kate Middleton will resume her public duties following Easter this month, according to Kensington Palace, local media believe it might take her up to nine months to fully heal.
With inputs from agencies