Who edited the controversial photo? It turns out that it was amateur photographer Kate herself. In one way, what a relief! In another, this is a good example of why the Prince and Princess of Wales desperately need better publicists and advice on how to present themselves to the public.
Almost all images that appear in newspapers or magazines have been edited or tweaked in some way. So when news agencies express concern about the authenticity of a seemingly innocuous picture of the Princess of Wales and her children on Mothering Sunday, alarm bells inevitably ring.
The technical reason for their concern is so trivial that those of us who are not experts in news photography might find it laughable. There was an apparent irregularity in one small part of Princess Charlotte’s sleeve.
There could be any number of reasons why a good photo editor might have made a sleeve adjustment. The little girl might have spilled some of her breakfast egg on the woolen sleeve. A shadow could have fallen across the group at an unfavorable angle.
The photo released by Kensington Palace yesterday of Kate and her children George, Charlotte and Louis. It was the first time the Princess of Wales had been seen after her operation
Kate released a statement on X this morning saying she edited the photo herself
The Princess of Wales is usually the one in the family who takes the pictures, and on this occasion she had to leave the task to her husband, who – regardless of his other great merits – is not the world’s greatest photographer. Inevitably, she thought she could do a better job of taking a family photo and set about editing the photo.
The news agencies caught wind of what she had done – with chaotic consequences.
Any decent, normal person’s reaction would surely be: ‘Give Kate and her family a break! She just got out of the hospital. It was Mothering Sunday. Kensington Palace has asked the press to leave the family alone until after Easter.
‘A lot of wild speculation had been flying around. This picture was released to stop the rumors and lead us to believe that Kate is on the mend and the family are their usual bright, smiling selves.’
But because the whole incident was so poorly handled, the release of the image has had an effect that is the opposite of the intended one. It should lead the public to believe that all is well with the Princess of Wales and her family. Instead, we are in the position where conspiracy theorists once again get their heads around it.
Now that we know that the princess edited the photo herself – and we have to take her at her word – we can see that the news agencies probably overreacted.
We can’t blame the Prince of Wales for taking an amateur photo. It’s not Kate’s fault that she bravely tried to expose the rumor mills by coming out of her recovery for an amateur photoshoot and then trying to make the photo seem less amateurish.
The Welshman’s Christmas card was criticized last year for a ‘Photoshop fail’ after someone saw one of Louis’ fingers apparently missing
And the photo agencies are certainly not to blame for pointing out the editing and inconsistencies they noticed in the family snap.
No, the blame lies with the publicists who manage the Prince of Wales and his household. Why didn’t they foresee this series coming? Why didn’t they check and double check before issuing the photo? It’s not the first time, after all – the Welsh Christmas card was criticized for a ‘Photoshop error’ after someone spotted one of Louis’ fingers apparently missing.
At the time, Palace sources insisted it was merely bent back, and perhaps that. The point is that, regardless of the case, the public is important. It is of vital importance to the royal family.
There is nothing new in this. The reason why the late Queen Mother and her daughters, Elizabeth and Margaret, loved Cecil Beaton, a truly great photographer, is because he was prepared to ‘edit’ their pictures.
He would literally take a scalpel to cut out the curves and make the domestic figure of the Queen Mother look slim. He airbrushed wrinkles and banished double chins.
But he was not only a good artist. He and they were experts in publicity and let the public see the pictures that the royal family themselves wanted to be published.
That was all Kate did, but her publicists should have been wise and realized that in today’s evil world and in the fevered atmosphere around the Welsh, the smallest thing – the adjustment of a little girl’s woolen sleeve – can send the news agencies apoplectic with excitement.
The Welsh should fire whoever was responsible in their publicity department and think twice before Kate next tries to edit one of her husband’s well-intentioned family photos.
