An expert spoke of “glaring errors” in a series of photos of the royal family after the Princess of Wales admitted to editing her Mother’s Day photo.
After weeks away from the spotlight, Kate gave an apparent glimpse into her recovery in a posed photo with her children earlier this month. However, it quickly became clear that the image had been digitally manipulated and Kate personally apologized for the “confusion.”
Royal sources said Kate had made “minor adjustments” and she and the Prince of Wales wanted to offer an informal family photo together for Mother’s Day.
The affair has raised doubts about trust in the taxpayer-funded royals, and several international news agencies have pulled the Mother’s Day photo. Phil Chetwynd, global news director of Agence France-Presse (AFP), said the palace was no longer a trustworthy source, comparing it to North Korean and Iranian news agencies.
The spotlight has since been on previous photos of the royal family. A closer look at some images suggests that Kate was not necessarily the first royal to post an edited picture. In fact, there are several cases of obvious editing in official shots featuring the late Queen Elizabeth and Kate’s husband William, among others.
Yahoo News showed photo editing expert Stephen Davies a number of royal photos (below) that some suggested may have been altered. He told us they “all show signs of being edited in one way or another.”
Davies, who runs The Photoshop Guy, said: “There are glaring errors. I believe these were edited by an amateur editor or they must have been created extremely quickly as a professional photo editor like myself would have noticed and fixed these errors before giving them to the client or posting them publicly.”
Davies said photo editing was “a completely normal practice” and revealed that he himself edits images for celebrities and companies “on a daily basis”. He added: “I believe that most of the photos we see online or in magazines are edited to some degree. They say the camera never lies. In this digital age, it lies every day.”
The photos under the microscope are:
The 99th birthday of the Duke of Edinburgh
The royal family was previously hit by a photo-editing episode when a photo celebrating the late Duke of Edinburgh’s 99th birthday was released in June 2020. The photo, which shows the Duke standing alongside the late Queen at Windsor Castle, was released when the UK was under strict COVID rules.
However, the photo’s impact was quickly tarnished as social media users claimed it had been photoshopped, with some pointing out inconsistencies in the lighting and the Queen’s hands.
The Duke of Edinburgh at Kensington Palace
A social media user pounced on a photo of the late Duke of Edinburgh posted in April 2021 following his death. The image, released by Kensington Palace, shows the Duke with the late Queen, William and Kate and their children and was taken in 2015.
Today we share, together with members of the @RoyalFamilyPhotographs of the Duke of Edinburgh, memories of him as a father, grandfather and great-grandfather.
📷 This picture was taken in Balmoral in 2015. pic.twitter.com/HxNfrL21xU
— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) 14 April 2021
OMG 😱 👀 According to Kensington Palace, this was taken at Balmoral in 2015. Look at his hand. Has anyone out there sent the actual raw photo to the agencies?? This one is from the BBC website. pic.twitter.com/jx1dDyyFEy
— BurnerObservations (@BurnerObserv2) March 20, 2024
But this week, the image was thrust into the spotlight in light of recent Mother’s Day editing, with users questioning inconsistencies in lighting, shadows and William’s hands.
Queen Elizabeth and her grandchildren
A few months after the death of Queen Elizabeth, the Princess of Wales released a touching portrait of the late monarch surrounded by her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. It was published in April 2023, on what would have been the Queen’s 97th birthday. Kate took the photo herself in August 2022, just weeks before the Queen’s death.
However, stock photo agency Getty added an editor’s note to the image this week, saying it was “digitally edited at source.” According to The Telegraph, there are inconsistencies in the image, such as a misalignment of the Queen’s kilt and a dimple on the green sofa that appears to be digitally edited.
The news came despite the image having been in the public domain for nearly a year, and a week after Kate apologized for her Mother’s Day edit.
Christmas card from the Prince and Princess of Wales
In December 2023, Kate and William released their black and white Christmas card. The photo showed the happy couple with their three children.
However, it didn’t take long for the image’s obvious flaws to become apparent. People replying to the post on X highlighted that Prince Louis appears to be missing a finger. Others zoomed in to show that there appears to be an extra pair of legs where Louis is standing.
