(London) Princess Kate on Monday took responsibility for a retouched photo, which showed her on Sunday with her children and which was unpublished by major news agencies because of its alterations.
It was the first official photo of the princess, who has not been seen in public since Christmas, and underwent serious abdominal surgery in January.
Instead of reassuring about her state of health, this altered photo had the opposite effect, and caused a media storm, a few days after an announcement, then withdrawn, about the presence of the princess at an official event in June.
“Like many amateur photographers, I sometimes try my hand at publishing. I would like to apologize for the confusion caused by the family photo we shared yesterday (Sunday), the Princess of Wales said in a message signed “C” for Catherine, published on X.
While royal sources spoke of “minor adjustments”, Kensington Palace, which manages the communications of the Prince and Princess of Wales, ruled out on Monday rebroadcasting the original photo without its alterations.
He published the photo on Sunday for Mother’s Day in the United Kingdom, specifying that it had been taken by Kate’s husband, Prince William.
We see the 42-year-old princess sitting smiling, surrounded by her three children.
The photo was accompanied by a short message thanking the public for their “continued support over the past two months.”
But a detailed examination shows several inconsistencies in the alignments. Princess Charlotte’s left hand is misaligned with the sleeve of her vest, one end of which appears cut off. There is also a clear break in Princess Kate’s zipper, clearly visible when enlarging the image.
(Re)read “Princess Kate’s first photo may have been retouched”
Question of “trust”
After relaying the photo provided by Kensington Palace, the Associated Press (AP), Reuters, Getty and AFP agencies decided to unpublish it on Sunday evening.
“The main press agencies considered that these modifications did not respect the ethical standards of the profession, and they collectively agreed to remove this photo from their distribution platforms,” explained the director of photography at Agence France- Press Eric Baradat.
The British PA agency made the same decision on Monday morning, citing the lack of “clarification” from the palace.
Monday morning, the royal columnist for the private channel ITV Chris Ship stressed that this photo intended to counter conspiracy theories and reassure about the state of health of the princess, ultimately did “exactly the opposite”.
According to Peter Hunt, another royal commentator, the affair is embarrassing for Kensington Palace because “people will now wonder if they can be trusted and believed” regarding the health of the princess, who according to the palace does not will not resume its activities before Easter.
No “news”
The controversy largely overshadowed the ceremony planned for Monday afternoon at Westminster Abbey for Commonwealth Day, one of the monarchy’s major annual events: all active and healthy members of the royal family there are expected, including Queen Camilla and Prince William.
In a pre-recorded video message, King Charles, currently being treated for cancer and who has suspended his public activities, promised to serve “to the best of his abilities” these 56 countries, a large part of which come from the former British Empire.
The effort at transparency demonstrated by the 75-year-old sovereign contrasts with the communication surrounding the health of his daughter-in-law since her operation. Kensington Palace announced that it was not cancer, and that the princess was recovering well.
PHOTO FRANK AUGSTEIN, ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES
Princess Kate
Kate’s last public appearance was at the royal family’s Christmas mass in Sandringham (east of England) at the end of December.
A photo taken from a long distance was published last week by American media. The British press did not do so, to respect the wishes of the Princess of Wales to follow her convalescence in private.
“It’s simple, don’t use their photos,” the anti-monarchy movement Republic wrote on Monday on X, “this is public relations, not news.”