E-Paper
Metadata held key in revealing truth behind Kate Middleton's edited image
Metadata from Kate Middleton’s controversial Mother’s Day photo has revealed that it had been edited at least twice before it was published
Metadata from Kate Middleton’s controversial Mother’s Day photo has revealed that it had been edited at least twice before it was published. This comes after Kate admitted to editing it.
The Princess of Wales issued an apology for the Photoshop errors. She wrote on X from the official Prince and Princess of Wales page, “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.”
What did the metadata reveal?
According to New York Post, information encoded in the photo shows two timestamps. The first reads “2024-03-08T21:54:11Z,” and the second reads “2024-03-09T09:39:47Z.” This indicates that the photo was first edited at 9:54 pm on Friday, March 8. It was again edited at 9:39 am the next morning.
The timestamps, however, do not reveal whether the photo was actually taken last week. This is what the royal family claimed when they published it.
Editing softwares can help one pull metadata from photos. Kate’s photo was taken using a “EF50mm” lens, which is attached to a Canon SLR-style camera, analysis revealed. Changes were made using Adobe Photoshop, and the edits were made, as well as saved, on an Apple computer.
Several major news agencies withdrew Kate’s photo, which was released by Kensington Palace. They alleged that it had been manipulated. According to the Associated Press, “at closer inspection it appears that the source has manipulated the image.” Agence France-Presse said they withdrew it due to “an editorial issue.”
While various conspiracy theories floated, some were afraid the picture indicated something was wrong with Kate. “Something is terribly wrong,” a source close to the situation told New York Post. “The idea that Kate could not sit for one photo session tells me this is a much more dire situation than anyone knows.”
